West Bengal GST Department busts Rs. 4,716 crore Fake GST Invoice Rackets

The West Bengal Directorate of Commercial Taxes (State GST) has uncovered massive fake GST invoice rackets worth Rs 4,716 crore and arrested four major operators, authorities stated on Friday (December 1). This is the first time that arrests have been made directly under the directorate’s Bureau of Investigation since 1941. Officials stated that before, police help was sought for arrests.

“The total amount of tax evasion involved in the two rackets was Rs 801 crore,” Directorate of Commercial Taxes Commissioner Khalid Anwar said.

According to Additional Commissioner Sudeshna Mukhopadhyay, the total revenue involved in these two rackets is Rs 4,716 crore.

“A systematic investigation since February has revealed that four operators created a network of 178 fake companies in West Bengal, issuing fraudulent invoices to evade Rs 801 crore in government tax revenue,” Mukhopadhyay said in a statement.

The investigating officers were two Deputy Commissioners, Somasree Kar and Madhumita Kundu, who broke the rackets with the help of a team of approximately 25 officials from the Bureau of Investigation, South Bengal, she added.

The operators used to entice naïve people with modest cash or promises of job before obtaining their PAN, Aadhaar, and other identifying papers fraudulently. They used them to set up multiple bogus businesses and get GST registrations.

“The operators forged rent agreements, electricity bills, property tax certificates, and even the signatures of premises owners and notaries to further their fraudulent activities. Money laundering through both financial channels and cash transactions drove the entire scam,” according to Mukhopadhyay.

One of those detained is being held in judicial custody, while the other three have been given bail on the condition that they help with the ongoing investigation.

“We are preparing a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) to be filed in court. More investigations are being conducted to identify and apprehend other individuals involved in this massive tax evasion scheme,” Anwar said.

The arrests and ongoing investigation, according to Anwar, will act as a deterrence to those involved in tax evasion and reflect the Directorate’s commitment to protecting the government’s income.