The Income Tax Department is reportedly working out plans to mine the GST payments data to prevent tax evasion. The CBDT wants companies availing presumptive taxation facility and also certain companies (not subjected to tax audit) to furnish GST-related payments information in their income tax returns. This has been specified in the new set of income tax return forms notified by the CBDT for Assessment Year 2018-19. Tax experts see the move as an effort to reconcile transactions reported for GST and for income tax purposes. Businesses have in the past been known to provide different turnover data for sales tax assessments and income tax returns. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had recently said the GST process would contribute to more direct tax collections: as more businesses get 'formalised' due to GST, income tax collections, too, will increase. That's already happening: direct taxes collections are on course to exceed the revised estimate of ₹10.05 lakh crore.