Rs.22.8 Lakh GST Notice to Telangana Illiterate Labourer for Non-Existent Business in Shocking Identity Theft Case

Janapati Venkateswarlu, a daily wage labourer from Chundrugonda, was shocked when he received a demand notice from the Vijayawada Commercial Tax Office for outstanding GST dues totalling Rs 22.8 lakh. The DRC-7 notice, dated March 4, was delivered to his house at 4-14 Temple Street, Chandrugonda, in the district.

According to the notice, Bhagya Laxmi Enterprise, which is purportedly registered at the same residential address in Chandrugonda but operates from 60-12-5, Siddhartha Nagar, SBI Colony, Vijayawada, owes Rs 22.86 lakh in GST dues for the financial year 2022-23, including penalties and interest, under GSTIN: 37CKKPV6641Q1Z0.

Venkateswarlu, who is illiterate and lives in a small room, only learnt about the notice’s details after getting help from a literate neighbour to read and interpret the document in Telugu. He also reported receiving phone calls seeking payment of his tax dues. The calling officer advised Venkateswarlu to submit a police report notwithstanding his claim that he has no relation to Bhagya Laxmi Enterprise and does not engage in any business activity.

Venkateswarlu further complicated matters by visiting the company’s listed address in Vijayawada on March 12, only to discover that no office existed there. With the help of friends, he discovered that a PAN card had been fraudulently issued in his name.

Venkateswarlu, who was baffled as to how a licence had been issued in his name for running a granite business without his knowledge, informed officials that he had registered for a PAN card only six months prior and did not have one in 2022, when the alleged business transactions happened.

Officials believe that someone may have exploited his Aadhaar card to obtain a PAN card and then conduct transactions under his name.

With an unexpected and large GST burden placed on him, Venkateswarlu has been running from pillar to post, attempting to persuade authorities that he had no role in the granite business activities conducted in his name.

Venkateswarlu intends to file a formal complaint with the Kothagudem police, as instructed by an income tax officer, to resolve the situation.