Sleuths of GST intelligence has unearthed a fake invoicing racket allegedly involving issuance of fake GST invoices showing sale of TMT bars and cement worth Rs 20.62 Crores. The sleuths have arrested a mastermind which is believed to be the first instance of an arrest made under the CGST Act, 2017 in the entire North East India.
The Guwahati Zonal Unit of Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) unearthed a fake invoicing racket allegedly involving in issuance of fake GST invoices showing sale of TMT bars and Cement worth Rs. 20.62 Crores (approx.) involving GST amounting to Rs. 4.91 Crores and also availed and utilised GST Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth Rs. 4.48 crores.
Official said that the officers gathered intelligence about this racket after weeks of rigorous surveillance and initiated this investigation by way of inspection at one business premises located at Guwahati and followed it up with subsequent searches at many residential and office premises.
During the investigation, the officers of DGGI traced down the mastermind of this racket, who is a young entrepreneur from the business community of Guwahati, and cultivated corroborative evidences against him by way of recording statements from his various suppliers and buyers, which led to a statement of confession from the mastermind.
L S Gangte, Additional Director, DGGI in a statement stated, “The mastermind received fraudulent GST Input Tax Credit into his proprietorship firm and his Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) firm from 3 other firms, of which he acted as a GST consultant and passed on fraudulent ITC to as many as 22 firms based in various parts of North East India, without supply of goods and services. The department has already started follow up investigation against all the 22 firms.”
In his statement of confession, the mastermind accepted his quantum of evasion to be Rs. 4.91 Crores (approx.), which is an offence inviting imprisonment upto three years under Section 132(1)(ii) of the CGST Act, 2017 making him liable to be arrested under Section 69(1) of CGST Act, 2017, accordingly, the mastermind was arrested on 11/02/2021. As per information, this is the first instance of an arrest made under the CGST Act, 2017 in the entire North East India.
Source: economictimes.com
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