Issuing Fake Invoice, E-Way Bill Economic Offence: Court rejects Bail of Chartered Accountant

The Delhi High Court has stated that providing fraudulent invoices and e-way bills for GST evasion is a serious economic violation that creates a loss to the national exchequer.

A chartered accountant accused of forgery and GST evasion through the manufacture of fraudulent invoices issued by non-existent firms was denied anticipatory bail by Justice Amit Bansal.

Umang Garg filed a lawsuit alleging that the chartered accountant encouraged him to purchase items or materials through numerous firms that were later proven to be fraudulent.

Garg also claimed that the CA directed him to deposit money for these commodities into numerous accounts under different names, robbing him of Rs.2,81,99,475, which included unpaid GST.

The judge emphasised the seriousness of the circumstance in denying the anticipatory bail request. It was noted that the CA had attempted to gain interim protection by offering to settle the dispute through mediation proceedings, hinting that his intention was to keep that protection in place during the mediation.

However, once the mediation sessions were finished as “unresolved,” the court determined that it was necessary to consider the application on its merits.

The evidence gathered during the investigation also revealed that the CA was running the firms in issue and had received a considerable sum of Rs. 3.5 crore from Garg, according to the court.

Given these findings and the serious nature of the charges, which included forgery and GST evasion through the manufacture of fake invoices, the court found no reasons to give the CA anticipatory bail.

Justice Bansal also revoked the chartered accountant’s earlier interim protection.

For Official Judgment Download PDF Given Below: