Country's largest mineral resource mapper GSI had to shell out Rs 4.62 crore from its resources as it failed to recover service tax from agencies to which it rendered consultancy, accounting watchdog CAG said today.

"GSI provided scientific and technical consultancy services to its clients and realised an amount of Rs 53.14 crore towards consultancy charges. However, neither did GSI realise service tax from the clients nor deposit the same," Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said.

Not only the agency, which falls under the Ministry of Mines, had to pay Rs 4.62 crore from its own resources after Commissioner of Service Tax and Director General of Central Excise Intelligence issued notices to it but "due to
non-payment of service tax in time, GSI is also liable to pay penal interest of Rs 1.05 crore," CAG said.

It added that Coal wing of GSI also failed to follow the provisions of the Finance Act resulting in non-recovery of service tax to the tune of Rs 69 lakh from its clients, "making it liable to pay the service tax and interest thereon
in the future".

GSI, set up with the objective of locating mineral resources, including coal, creates and updates national geo-scientific data and mineral resource assessment.