GST Scam

In a major statewide crackdown on bogus input tax credit (ITC) scam, a joint team of officials from the CID Crime, Economic Offences Wing (EOW), and Special Operation Group (SOG) conducted raids at 14 locations across Ahmedabad, Junagadh, Surat, Kheda, and Bhavnagar on October 7.

The probe uncovered approximately 220 businesses and individuals involved in this widespread fraud. These entities were operational in various parts of the country, exploiting the Goods and Services Tax (GST) operations based on fake identities and fraudulent documents.

The scam reportedly occurred between February 2023 and the end of April 2023. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) lodged a formal complaint, initiating the investigation.

One of the key culprits, Dhruvi Enterprise, was found to have fabricated rent agreements and submitted them to DGGI to fraudulently claim input tax credit.

The company also issued fake bills to facilitate bogus ITC claims for other entities. It was discovered that multiple GST registrations were obtained using the same PAN card across different locations.

Dhruvi Enterprise provided ITC to 12 companies, while it also claimed credit from companies whose GST registrations had already been cancelled.

Among the defaulters were companies like Nemis Traders and Solanki Enterprise, which continued to claim ITC despite having their registrations cancelled.

The investigation further uncovered that a single mobile number and email ID were used to register six GST accounts. This fraudulent operation created a network of 34 companies and obtained an additional 186 registrations, with 50 of them located within Gujarat.

This CGST scam is now under further scrutiny by the respective authorities.

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