Punjab cracks whip on illegal IELTS centres, will bring them under GST net
“He has asked all the Deputy Commissioners for the list of IELTS centres in their district. We will check. If there are some unregistered IELTS centres, then we will impose fine on them and ask them to get registered and pay GST.
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IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an English language test for aspirants who wish to study or work abroad, or migrate out of country. (Representational image) Looking to generate some additional revenue, the Punjab government is set to crack the whip on the IELTS centres that have not applied for registration and by default do not pay GST, despite charging the same from the students and aspirants. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema has called a review meeting Tuesday pertaining to GST collection, or lack of it, from the IELTS centres. He has already issued orders that these centres should be checked and if they are evading paying taxes, then they be brought under the ambit of the GST.
“He has asked all the Deputy Commissioners for the list of IELTS centres in their district. We will check. If there are some unregistered IELTS centres, then we will impose fine on them and ask them to get registered and pay GST. After all. The IELTS centres have to pay 18 per cent GST,” said an official who will be part of the meeting.
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is an English language test for aspirants who wish to study or work abroad, or migrate out of country. In the IELTS course, students are trained in four spheres – reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
According to the Punjab government estimates, nearly 6 lakh Punjabi students undergo the IELTS training every year while more than 60,000 students appear for the IELTS exam every month. Thousands of others opt for the PTE (Pearson Test of English), for which many centres have mushroomed. The PTE Academic exam is a computer-based English test accepted by educational institutions around the world. It is a test for non-native English speakers who wish to study abroad.
The IELTS exam is conducted four times a month and students are enrolled for a period of 15 days to three months at such centres.
A conservative estimate puts number of IELTS centres in Punjab at 20,000. They charge Rs 6,000 to Rs 20,000 per month as coaching fee. Some students take the exam multiple times. “Look at the way these centres charge the students. The business is worth nearly Rs 200 crore per month. Why should they not pay the government,” asked the official.
The meeting comes days after Punjab Cabinet minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said he would urge Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make IELTS part of college curriculum.
Addressing reporter on May 25, Dhaliwal had said that Punjab has more IELTS coaching centres than grocery shops, but most of them are fake. “They are robbing people, in villages and towns. They are making money in the name of IELTS coaching. Considering this, IELTS needs to be made part of the education system in Punjab so that this loot stops,” Dhaliwal had said.
Earlier this week, in a crackdown, the Khanna police had raided two illegal IELTS coaching centres running without registration and duping youths and booked two women. Both women were running centres from their homes and without having any permit or registration from Ludhiana district administration.
Khanna SSP Amneet Kondal had said that IELTS coaching centres owners should avail a license from district administration to operate.
Meanwhile, a senior government official said that there may not be many centres, which are not paying GST. “Most of them are registered. Some functioning from homes on the sly may not be. They will get registered now,” the official said.
He added that these centres were charging GST from the students but it was not being paid to the government, “There is a lot of evasion. We have caught many centres indulging in this practice. We will check it now,” the official added.
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