Facial Recognition Feature For GSTN From New Year

Vijayawada:Andhra Pradesh Commercial Taxes Department, in collaboration with the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN), has announced the launch of a new biometric face authentication feature through a mobile application, effective from the New Year.

The biometric face authentication is aimed at streamlining the verification process while preventing bogus taxpayers from entering the GST ecosystem at the registration stage, thus protecting the system from the misuse of fake Input Tax Credit (ITC). Additionally, it offers enhanced security against the misuse of Aadhaar details and the creation of fake identity cards, safeguarding innocent individuals whose Aadhaar information may have been misused, and ensuring that only legitimate taxpayers are enrolled in the system.

Currently, there are 12 GST Seva Kendras (GSKs) in Andhra Pradesh where biometric verification is done using fingerprint or iris scanners. The new feature being introduced from Wednesday will enhance convenience and accessibility, GSTN has developed a mobile application compatible with Android devices (phones or tablets). This new app enables Biometric Authentication Officers (BAOs) at GSKs to carry out the verification process without the need for any hardware devices.