LUCKNOW, June 9 -- Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday directed officials to launch a stringent crackdown on shell companies and fraudulently registered firms, warning that any misuse of facilities meant for genuine traders was "unforgivable". Chairing a high-level review meeting of the state tax department here, he said tax evasion was a national crime that directly hindered development plans and welfare schemes. Yogi emphasised transparency, technological integration and strict enforcement to strengthen revenue systems. "GST is a consumer-based tax system, and densely populated regions must reflect proportionate revenue. Underperformance in such areas is unacceptable," the CM said. He instructed officials to prepare a special report on zones lagging behind headquarters-level collection benchmarks and submit it to the government for further action. Asserting that fraudulent registrations compromise the rights of honest taxpayers, the CM ordered that all newly registered firms undergo on-site verification. He said that any suspicious firms under the state GST regime should be thoroughly investigated with registration cancellations and FIRs in confirmed cases. Yogi also called for coordination with the Centre for cancellation of fake firms registered under the central GST. Officials informed the CM that GST and VAT collections for April and May had reached Rs 18,161.59 crore-just over 10% of the Rs 1,75,725 crore annual target for FY 2025-26. While he appreciated progress, the CM pushed for accelerated efforts to meet the full-year target. Yogi lauded 14 zones, including both Lucknow zones, Ayodhya, Bareilly, Agra, Ghaziabad, GB Nagar, Meerut, Jhansi and Saharanpur, for achieving 60% or more of their targets. However, he expressed dissatisfaction with low-performing zones like Varanasi-I, Prayagraj, Kanpur-II, Etawah, Aligarh, and Moradabad, where collections were under 50%, and ordered an immediate review. htc...