GST Officials Bust Fake Invoice Racket Worth Rs 50 Crores, Arrest 1

GST officials have busted an illegal input tax credit (ITC) racket which involves 115 fake firms spread over 9 GST Commissionerates.

The officials, according to Fin Min sources, have arrested one, Prince Manish Kumar Khatri, a third-year student and a partner of a CA firm in Ahmedabad for registering fake firms, generating illegal availment and wrongfully passing on of Input Tax Credit (ITC) to the tune of Rs. 50.24 Crores.

The racket was busted using data analytics and the Fin Min sources said that the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) is keeping “non-intrusive but a close watch through rigorous data-mining and data analytics on such dubious and unscrupulous elements who in the garb of professionals take up illegal availment of ITC and evasion of GST”. Further investigation is under progress.

The source said Khatri is allegedly the key person involved in registration of 115 non-existent firms and filing of GST returns of such fake firms, thus passing on ineligible ITC for wrong availment and utilization for GST payment.

Out of these 115 fake units, 49 fall under Ahmedabad North Commissionerate; 27 under Vadodara-II Commissionerate; 15 under Bhiwandi Commissionerate; 12 under Gandhinagar Commissionerate.

Another 5 units come under Ahmedabad South Commissionerate; 3 under Jodhpur Commissionerate; 2 under Vadodara-I Commissionerate; 1 under Thane Rural Commissionerate and 1 unit under Bhavnagar Commissionerate.