By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, FEB 15, 2021: GST officers have made four arrests in connection with three different cases where fake firms were generating goods-less invoices and committing Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud of Rs. 178 crore.

Through the use of extensive data analytics, the officers of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Commissionerate - Delhi North, unravelled several non-existent companies who were passing on fake ITC to multiple beneficiaries, said the Ministry of Finance said on Monday

“The total ITC involved in the three cases is Rs. 178 crore. Further investigations in all the matters are in progress and the amount of fake credit and total number of companies and persons involved are likely to increase,” the ministry added.

Culprits Mr Vikas Goyal and Mr Gopal Aggarwal were arrested for running the web of four non-existent firms to pass-on ITC of Rs. 54 crore, primarily to 14 other firms. These firms were not only involved in issuing goods-less invoices on commission basis but also used such invoices for claiming IGST refund on export of goods.

In the second case, investigations revealed that Mr Mohinder Kumar received fraudulent ITC of Rs. 111 crore in his two firms, VMW Enterprises and Shree Bahadur Steel Company from several bogus firms and passed on this credit to several other firms without actual supply of goods.

In another similar case, Mr Surender Kumar Jain, who managed VDR Colors and Chemicals and A.V. Metals Marketing, was involved in a fake billing racket of goods-less invoices, availing ITC of Rs. 13 crore.

All the accused were arrested and remanded to judicial custody of 14 days.

Since the inception of the GST Central Tax - Delhi Zone, 25 arrests in various cases of tax evasion amounting to more than Rs. 3,969.65 crore have been made, the ministry said.