Fake bills worth amount Rs.76 lakh saddle contractor with Rs.12 lakh GST

A construction contractor was surprised to hear that he had to pay Rs 12 lakh in Goods and Services Tax (GST) on Rs 76 lakh in bills issued in his name for work he had never performed.

According to him, panchayat officials hiked the costs, issued the funds in his name, and defrauded him. The deception was discovered lately when he received his CA’s report.

P Narayana, a Yelahanka-based class 2 civil contractor, has filed a complaint with Bagalur police, claiming that he has been operating as a civil contractor for six years and has completed various government projects.

He holds a civil contractor class 2 licence as well as a licence from the panchayat raj engineering department. He has a GST number as well. His auditor recently informed him that he had been charged around Rs 76 lakh by Bandikodigehalli gram panchayat in Yelahanka taluk for his GST number.

The panchayat had also removed 2% GST (Rs 1.7 lakh) from the bill, leaving him with 16% (Rs 12 lakh) to pay.

Narayana told the reporters, “I didn’t do any work for Bandikodigehalli gram panchayat during 2022-23, nor did the panchayat assign me any work during that time. I was astounded when my auditor informed me of the bills issued under my GST number.”

Narayana reported to police that the panchayat president, the panchayat development officer (PDO), and others had misappropriated his licence and GST number and submitted invoices for different activities. He claims that the scam occurred between January 1 and July 18 of this year.

A top Lokayukta official confirmed Narayana’s complaint and said an investigation is underway. Meanwhile, a top police official confirmed that a case of impersonation cheating had been filed. “We will take the appropriate action during the investigation,” he added. The PDO did not reply to comment requests.