GST Fake Billing: Authorities Uncover illegal sale worth Rs. 87.9 crores; 2 Traders Caught:

GST Fake Billing: Authorities Uncover illegal sale worth Rs. 87.9 crores; 2 Traders Caught Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities have uncovered a connection of iron and steel traders that were engaged in fake input tax credit (ITC) billing, leading to an illegal sale worth Rs. 87.9 crore and resulting in tax evasion of Rs. 13.4 crore. An investigation by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) in Ludhiana revealed that three iron and steel traders in Mandi Gobindgarh, Punjab, were involved in illegal sales worth Rs. 87.9 crore, leading to GST evasion of Rs. 13.4 crore. The businesses that were engaged in this fraud were Aar Dee Enterprises, Aashi Steel Industries, and Abhi Alloys. This highlights the major revenue loss to both central and state governments, which is directly affecting the public welfare fund, infrastructure, and social development. This not only damages the economy and domestic markets but also discourages fair competition. The fraud was detected through strong inter-organisational and inter-regional coordination between the DGGI offices in Ludhiana, Punjab, and Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Two individuals from Punjab, Raman Kumar Chaurasia of Mandi Gobindgarh and Devinder Singh of Khanna, fraudulently bought iron and steel products using fake invoices. They received a fake input tax credit (ITC) from Deepanshu Srivastava and his associate Mohit Kumar in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. They operated this scam through 37 fake business entities. On May 15, the DGGI Ludhiana arrested Chaurasia and Devinder for evading GST worth Rs 13.4 crore. Both were sent to judicial custody. DGGI Ludhiana is making efforts to control fake billing and fraudulent ITC claims. As per the DGGI Ludhiana, such actions damage the public trust, making an uneven playing field where honest and genuine taxpayers suffer while fraudsters benefit. This weakens voluntary tax compliance.