Maharashtra: Inter-state GST invoice racket busted

Nagpur, November 18

An inter-state tax invoice racket with fake transactions of over Rs 131 crore and fraudulent input tax credit of over Rs 26 crore was busted by the Nagpur unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), an official said on Wednesday.

The racket involves three tax payers, one from Maharashtra and two others from Karnataka, who are involved in supplying labour and providing contract services, a release by DGGI stated.

The racket came to light when searches were conducted in remote areas of Chandrapur district against a taxpayer allegedly involved in issuing fake invoices and availing fraudulent input tax credit (ITC), it was stated.

Further probe revealed that the taxpayer was fake and documents uploaded on the GST portal as proof of address like electricity bills etc, were all forged and fabricated, it was stated.

According to the DGGI, details of two more taxpayers based in Karnataka were unearthed during the probe and it was revealed that the accused had taken GST registration on the same date, had declared same email addresses and were sole suppliers/buyers of each other.

Fraudulent ITC to the tune of Rs 26.09 crore has been detected, the DGGI said, adding that the process has been initiated to apprehend the kingpin of the racket who is based in Karnataka. — PTI