Rajkot man arrested in connection to ₹186 crore GST scam

Updated: Dec 5th, 2024

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GST scam case

Goods and Services Tax (GST) officers have arrested Pragnesh Kantaria, allegedly involved in a ₹186 crore GST scam. The GST officers raided Fortune Copper Industries, Infinity Exim, and 14 other companies owned by Kantaria. Following the raid, details of the scam emerged, leading to Kantaria’s arrest.

Kantaria was involved in the copper trading business across Rajkot, Surat, Bharuch, Vapi, Junagadh, and Bhavnagar.

Earlier, on November 11, a raid in his office had revealed a GST fraud by creating fake bills for the purchase of copper that was never sold.

In connection with the same case, Sandip Varani, a partner at Fortune Copper Industries, was arrested on November 13. Varani was implicated in a ₹19.46 crore GST fraud, and a case was registered against him.

In the latest development, the GST department arrested Kantaria on Tuesday. Kantaria had created fake bills and claimed input tax credits on them, committing a fraud worth ₹186 crore.

It has been established that Pragnesh Kantaria illegally claimed input tax credits in violation of Section 132(1)(a) of the GST Act. Preliminary verification of documents from M/s Infinity Exim revealed that Kantaria fraudulently claimed input tax credit of ₹34 crore by showing illegal transactions of ₹186 crore.

As a result, the government treasury suffered a loss of ₹34 crore, and the figure of the fraud is expected to rise further.

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