Railway Contractor, Tent House Under GST Scanner After SIB Detects Rs 4.25 Crore Tax Evasion Near BLW:

The Special Investigation Branch (SIB) of the Uttar Pradesh State Tax Department has detected GST evasion of around Rs 4.25 crore near Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW). The action was taken against a railway contractor and a tent house operating in the area.

The SIB team conducted raids for four days to investigate the alleged tax evasion. The operation began on the night of September 18 and continued until the night of September 22. Officials disclosed the findings late on Tuesday night. The names of the contractor and the tent house have not been released yet.

According to the investigation, the railway contractor's firm carries out civil construction work and supplies manpower to BLW through the government e-marketplace. The firm allegedly did not show its manpower supply business in its GST return for the financial year 2025-26.

Further, the company did not file its GST return for the year 2026-27, even after receiving more than Rs 5.50 crore during April and August 2026. Estimated amount on which GST is payable is Rs. 1 crore or more which has not been deposited.

SIB officials also found that the firm had taken input tax credit of about Rs 36 lakh on the basis of fake bills. After going through the firm's records, officials put the total tax evasion at around Rs 4.25 crore. During the probe, the contractor deposited Rs 46 lakh and promised the officials that the remaining amount will be paid soon.

The investigation also showed that a catering and tent house company operating out of the same location had irregularities in its records.The firm’s GST registration was canceled in March 2026 and it had not filed any GST returns since July 2025.

Even after the cancelation of its GST registration, the firm carried out business on a large scale. It was found that the officials had done business worth around Rs 2 crore to Rs 2.5 crore since 2022-23. Now the tax department is going after the alleged violations.