CGST Officials Arrests Proprietor for GST Fraud of Rs 26 Crores

The CGST Commissionerate in Belapur, which is part of the CGST Mumbai Zone, has busted a phoney ITC network and arrested the owner of M/s. Amarnath Enterprises in Navi Mumbai for obtaining and passing on a fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs 26.28 crore by producing bogus invoices totaling Rs 132.7 crore.

An investigation was launched on a tip from the CGST Mumbai Zone’s Central Intelligence Unit, which discovered that only invoices had been issued and no items had been delivered. Evidence gathered during the investigation and the proprietor’s confession revealed that an offence, as defined in Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, was being committed with complete disregard for the statutory provisions and the intent to defraud the government of its due revenue. As a result, he was arrested under Section 69 of the CGST Act on February 24, 2022, and appeared in court the same day, where he was detained in judicial prison for 14 days.

This case is part of a specific Anti-Evasion drive initiated by the CGST, Mumbai Zone, targeting fraudsters and tax evaders who are putting complying taxpayers in an unfavorable position and robbing the government. In the financial year 2021-22, the Belapur Commissionerate discovered Rs. 1138.59 crore in tax evasion and arrested four people. To identify bogus ITC networks and other tax evaders, the CGST department is utilizing data analytics and network analysis techniques. In the following days and months, the Department will escalate its crackdown on fraudsters and tax evaders.