Officers of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Visakhapatnam Zonal Unit, apprehended a Hyderabad resident, who is said to be the mastermind in generating invoices/bills valued at ₹108.9 crore and passed on fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) of ₹19.60 crore, using business entities operated by him, without the actual supply of goods or services.
These entities are used to facilitate passing of fraudulent ITC by issuing fake GST invoices to multiple business firms/companies located in various States.
The accused along with their acquaintances used stolen identities such as PAN, Aadhaar and bank accounts of innocent people on the pretext of getting bank loans etc. and created fake business entities with the sole purpose of passing on fraudulent ITC, there by defrauding the exchequer to the tune of ₹19.60 crore.
The accused was arrested under Section 69 of CGST Act, 2017, and was produced before the Special Judge for Economic Offences, Visakhapatnam. The court has remanded the accused to judicial custody for 14 days. Further investigation is in progress.
Principal Additional Director General of DGGI, Visakhapatnam Zonal Unit, M.R.R Reddy, said the menace of fake registrations and issuance of bogus invoices for passing the ineligible ITC was a serious problem, where fraudulent people were involved and creating dubious transactions to cheat/ defraud the exchequer.
He advised people not to fall prey to the allurement of fraudsters who were convincing them to rent 1 out of 2 their bank accounts, PAN, Aadhaar and mobile OTPs in exchange for a paltry sum money, jobs and using the same details, the fraudsters were floating bogus business entities, which could entail legal action by the department.
Those who are sharing their PAN and Aadhaar details are making themselves ineligible for government subsidies provided by the State and the Central governments to poor people due to their on-paper business activity, which most of the times is created without their knowledge. DGGI, Visakhapatnamn Zonal Unit, has undertaken concerted and coordinated action to curb the menace of fake ITC and GST evasion.
Mr. Reddy advised the general public to be more vigilant in their dealings which were linked to their respective Aadhaar, PAN Card and bank account in their best interest and avoid future complications.
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