GST Department Arrests One Person for Bogus ITC Claim of Rs 102 Crores

One person was detained by the Maharashtra State GST Department for filing a phoney ITC claim of Rs.14 crore based on fake bills worth Rs.102 crore. The department has also been able to collect Rs. 8 crore in revenue from M/s. Cermix’s suppliers. The proprietor of M/s. Cermix was arrested on 07/04/2022 as part of Maharashtra Goods and Service Tax Department’s Special Anti-Evasion Drive against fraudsters and tax evaders for generating, availing, and using fraudulent GST Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs.14 Crores from bogus invoices totaling Rs.102 Crores.

The inquiry is still ongoing to see whether there is any additional connection to this fraud. The proprietor of M/s. Cermix has been placed in judicial custody for 14 days by the Hon’ble Metropolitan Magistrate Court. Under the supervision of Mr. Nilkanth S. Ghogare, Deputy Commissioner of State Tax, and Mr. Rahul Dwivedi (IAS), Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Investigation-A, Mumbai, Assistant Commissioner of State Tax Mr. Amol Suryawanshi conducted this joint investigation.

To detect tax evaders, the GST Department is using sophisticated network analytic techniques and coordinating with other authorities. This will serve as a strong reminder to all tax evaders that the Maharashtra GST department will not spare anyone who is attempting to avoid paying taxes.