DGGI Surat officials arrest Ahmedabad’s Himanshu Shah for availing bogus input tax credit worth ₹100 crore

Officials at the Surat office of the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) have arrested Himanshu Rajnikant Shah, a resident of Siddhichakra Apartment in Paldi, Ahmedabad, for fraudulently availing bogus Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth ₹100 crore. By generating fake bills without supplying any goods, Shah wrongfully obtained ITC amounting to ₹100.56 crore. Shah has been booked under Sections 132(1)(b) and 132(1)(c) of the CGST Act.

Based on a tip-off, Shah was arrested on the afternoon of September 3. Before his arrest, DGGI had investigated bogus ITC claims through Chunara Traders, which was supposedly linked with other companies.

The investigation revealed that Mukesh Ramjibhai Chunara, who ran Chunara Traders, is untraceable and possibly non-existent. At the registered address of the firm, no office was found. Moreover, the GST number of Chunara Traders has already been cancelled.

DGGI officers also investigated other construction companies that had purchased bogus bills from Chunara Traders, including Maheshwari Construction, Chamunda Construction, and Dayma Construction. 

The owners admitted that they had taken invoices from Himanshu Shah without any supply of goods. Following this, DGGI raided Shah’s office near Khadia crossroads and seized several incriminating documents. Fake e-way bills in the name of multiple companies and numerous cheque books were recovered.

Subsequent analysis of data from around 18 companies revealed large-scale fraudulent billing and bogus ITC claims.

Companies that availed bogus input tax credit: