GST Evasion of Rs. 3.48 Crore via Fake Firm: FIR Registered Against Vinod Trading Company

A state tax investigation found that a trader from Devchara allegedly used fake GST registration and bogus transactions through his firm to fraudulently claim ITC.

The Deputy Commissioner A. Lallan Maurya of the State Tax Division-1 Special Investigation Branch received information that Vinod Gupta, owner of a company named M/s Vinod Trading Company, had taken GST registration using fake documents. It was suspected that he was illegally claiming Input Tax Credit (ITC).

Acting upon this information, the department team inspected the registered business address on January 22, 2021. However, they found no business activity, and there was no signboard of the company at the location as well.

During the verification, the son of the warehouse owner, whose premises were shown as the business address, said that his father had never rented the warehouse to Vinod Gupta. The signatures on the rent agreement were also found to be fake.

Local residents also confirmed that no mentha oil or any other trading work was being carried out at the site. This made it clear that the company existed only on paper and not in reality.

According to the report, Vinod Trading Company showed purchases worth Rs. 1.64 crore from Shyam Traders using e-way bills and wrongly claimed ITC of Rs. 19.74 lakh. Fake transactions with several other firms were also shown to claim CGST and SGST credits.

The investigation further found that invoices were issued without any actual supply of goods. By doing this, the accused allegedly caused a total loss of Rs. 3,48,27,514 to the government.

It was also reported that during a State Tax Department review meeting on June 5, 2025, strict action was ordered against fake and shell companies. This case was registered following those instructions.

The FIR has been filed by State Tax Officer Division-1, Sheshnath Rawat. Police have started legal action against Vinod Gupta under relevant laws.

Department sources said that misuse of GST registration and fake ITC claims through paper transactions are serious economic crimes. The investigation is still ongoing.

Officials said that documents are still being examined in detail. If other firms are found to be involved, further legal action will be taken.