Raids on 13 star hotels, all of which house liquor shops, revealed tax irregularities to the tune of Rs12.65 crore by State Goods and Services Tax (GST) department, official sources said. An official statement said searches were conducted on 13 hotels in Ahmedabad, Surendranagar, Bhuj, Mundra, Gandhidham, Surat, Jamnagar and Rajkot by State GST authorities recently. Each of the 13 hotels also house a liquor shop, where liquor is sold to permit-holders. “The tax amount in these cases is Rs12.65 crore. Of this, Rs1.96 crore have been recovered, and steps have been initiated to recover the remaining sum,” the statement said. The statement said that discrepancies were found in the liquor sale as per records of the Prohibition department, and details furnished in VAT forms. In most of the cases, the difference was shown as discount, and the required taxes were not paid. The discrepancies were found in Hotel President in Ahmedabad, Hotel Shiv International in Surendranagar, and Jamnagar’s Hotel Fortune Palace. The statement further said that Hotel Aarti International of Mundra and Gandhidham had not deposited the required tax. Gandhidham’s Holiday Village Resort had not paid the tax since its registration number had been cancelled.

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