GST Officials unearthed Rs.125 crore GST Fraud; 2 Arrested

GST Officials unearthed Rs.125 crore GST Fraud; 2 Arrested In the scrap business, the GST department discovered a Rs.13-crore input tax credit (ITC) fraud. Two Perumbavoor residents have been arrested in connection with the case. According to the department, they fabricated GST bills worth Rs.125 crore and passed inadmissible ITC worth Rs.13 crore. The operations were carried out with the support of armed police, according to the department, because there was indications that the gang had ties to hawala-narcotic mafias. "On June 3, eight units under C G Aravind, state tax officer (STO), Kottayam, conducted searches at 12 places and gathered testimonies from approximately 10 businesspeople in the area, based on a tip that substantial tax fraud was taking place using junk dealership company as a front," said the statement. According to the state GST department, "it was revealed that two Perumbavoor residents, Azhar Ali and Rinshad, were behind the tax cheating." Both were summoned many times, according to officials, but they did not appear to give their statements. As a result, raids on the homes of those implicated began at 4 a.m. on Monday. During the raid, investigators recovered five cellphones and documents. "According to the inquiry so far, the gang fabricated bills worth roughly Rs.125 crore and evaded tax worth at least Rs.13 crore. "Everyone who was involved or aided in the establishment of false registrations will face severe consequences," the statement said. The investigating team included state tax officer for Kottayam C G Aravind, STO for Mattanchery Baby Mathai, STO for Alappuzha Rajagopal, and deputy commissioner (investigation branch) Johnson Chacko. Assistant commandant Anson and sub inspector Santhosh Kumar of KAP Battalion I Tripunithura led the 14-member police team.