GST State Tax Department Cracks Down on Fake ITC Fraud in Kashmir

The State Taxes Department in Kashmir has launched a major operation to stop fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) practices and protect public revenue under the GST. A series of large number of raids were carried out across different parts of Kashmir targeting businesses suspected of being involved in fraudulent ITC claims.

The raids were planned over the past month. The department had got reliable information that some business entities were misusing ITC rules. The department decided to act, and conduct check on the basis of this information. The operation confirmed that there were some serious cases of tax fraud going on.

The fraud was mainly taking place in the trade of high-value commodities such as iron, cement and steel. These items are mostly connected to GST evasion. The income tax department investigation team spent over 30 days in the research and identification of those who were involved in making fake invoices and wrongly claiming ITC. These businesses were claiming tax credit without the actual supply of any good or services which is against the GST law.

The department believes that these fake claims were causing a huge loss to government funds. This resulted them to focus on sectors that are more likely to be used for such frauds. Different methods such as shell companies and false billing methods were used to cheat the system.

A well-coordinated enforcement team led the investigation. The department worked hard in tracing the flow of the money and uncover those behind the scam. The effort was supported by the top officials who guided and directed the whole operation from start to finish.

This was carried out by seven special teams. Each team had a State Officer as its head and was supported by inspectors and sub-inspectors. Proper training was provided to the teams and were fully prepared for the task. The raids were done at various locations in North Kashmir in the morning.

The department has also compared GST returns and did physical checks of businesses. This helped in finding the unmatched ITC records. The purpose behind this operation was not only stopping the fraud but also building a clean and transparent tax system. It sends a strong message to those tax evaders and encourages honest taxpayers to continue supporting the region’s economic growth.