Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asked tax officials to pay “equal attention” towards Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection and widening of the tax-net.

Sitharaman was speaking at the inauguration of 12 GST Seva Kendras at Vapi, where state Finance Minister Kanu Desai as well as state and central GST officials were present.

From now, I would want equal attention to be given to the collection of tax – the numbers are going up every month – but equally more establishments and businesses should get enrolled. The country should benefit from having a transparent tax regime in which everybody participates,” she said.

The minister added that “staying out of the system is not good for the country”. “By staying out, you believe – and that is a wrong belief – that you benefit, you do not come into the (tax) net and you are not noticed. But you are losing out on potential buyers of your products,” she said.

Sitharaman also said not providing bills to consumers making a purchase was not in “national interest”. “A consumer should make sure that he participates in the nation-building process. You are buying a product and demanding a bill, is a big step forward in transparency. It is a big step forward to make sure that the money that has to go for public causes, goes for it… So, to not bill a customer or to not give the bill to the customer – having obtained his money for the product – is not in the national interest,”