Who can access GST data? Council to consider requests from NATGRID, MoSPI

The GST Council is set to consider requests from intelligence and statistical agencies for wider access to taxpayer data, including proposals for API-based access to granular GST records. The requests have triggered concerns within the GST system over the scope of access, statutory confidentiality and the handling of personally identifiable taxpayer information.

Sources said the Ministry of Home Affairs' National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) and the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) have sought wider access to the GST database.

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NATGRID, which connects 11 central intelligence agencies and state police forces, has sought query-based API integration using identifiers such as GSTIN, PAN, mobile numbers and CIN. The Ministry of Home Affairs has argued that such access would be important for counter-terrorism and national security, as well as investigations into economic offences including tax evasion, money laundering, organised cyber fraud and other serious crimes.

However, technical assessments by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) and recommendations of the GST Implementation Committee (GIC) have flagged concerns over the scope of the proposed access.

GSTN noted that while NATGRID has sought "need-to-know" access, API integration could potentially enable access to a much broader set of registration, e-way bill and GST filing data in an unmasked, individually identifiable format.

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Some of the specific parameters sought by NATGRID, including taxpayer photographs, Place of Supply (PoS) details and certain invoice-level information, are not available within the existing GST framework.

The GIC has also pointed to Section 158 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, which lays down conditions for disclosure of information in specified circumstances, including during ongoing proceedings. Given that NATGRID's proposal involves access to unmasked taxpayer information across the database, the GIC has deferred the matter to the full GST Council for a decision.

Separately, MoSPI has sought access to complete GST datasets, including disaggregated taxpayer records from GSTR-3B and GSTR-9 returns, to improve the compilation of national economic indicators such as GDP and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), as well as enterprise surveys.

GSTN has raised objections to the proposal, arguing that taxpayers provide information under the GST framework for the purpose of tax compliance. The sharing of bulk, personally identifiable information for broader statistical purposes raises questions around statutory confidentiality, data security and the legal basis for such use.

The issue before the GST Council, therefore, is not only whether government agencies should have access to GST data, but also what categories of information can be shared, under what legal provisions and with what safeguards.

Any decision could have wider implications for how taxpayer information is shared across government agencies beyond its original tax-compliance purpose, while potentially giving enforcement agencies greater access to data that could help identify tax evasion, fake invoicing, money laundering and other financial crimes.