Lid off fake billing scam worth crores in Punjab

Chandigarh, July 26

Finance and Taxation Minister Harpal Cheema today said the Taxation Department’s enforcement wing had unearthed a fake billing scam worth thousands of crores.

Two firms dealing in gold were found to have generated fake bills worth Rs 760 crore, while 303 firms dealing in iron were involved in fake billing of Rs 4,044 crore. Additionally, 68 firms were found to have prepared fake bills of Rs 533 crore after getting their units registered in the name of other persons.

While gold worth Rs 336 crore was sold and purchased on bogus bills in Amritsar, a larger cache of gold sold without bills has been detected in Ludhiana, valued at Rs 424 crore.

The Tribune was the first to report it, highlighting how the huge quantity of gold was found during a raid at a wholesale jeweller in Amritsar. It was initially suspected that the gold could have been a part of the consignment stolen from the Pearson Airport in what is referred to as the Toronto gold heist. Cheema said this angle would be investigated. He added that the registration of the two firms had been cancelled.

Cheema said out of 303 firms, which indulged in fake sale-purchase of iron worth Rs 4,044 crore, 11 were registered in Punjab, 86 in other states and 206 with the Centre.

He said 217 firms registered with the Centre and Punjab had outstanding input tax credit of Rs 89.70 crore. He said bogus input tax credit of Rs 707 crore was claimed in this case. Cheema said registration of 11 firms had been cancelled.

The minister said 68 firms involved in fake billing were registered in the names of other persons. He said they had registered an FIR against five persons in Ludhiana. Bogus billing to the tune of Rs 533 crore had been found in this case, said Cheema.