In a major action, the Directorate General of GST
Intelligence (DGGI) has busted a racket of exporter companies involved in
defrauding the exchequer through fraudulent claims of input tax credit (ITC)
and cash refund of around Rs 61 crore.
The officers of DGGI estimated that a few exporter companies
were engaged in fraudulent availing of ITC on the invoices of non-existing and
fictitious firms or such firms which apparently do not have any purchases
themselves.
The ITC so availed was utilized to pay IGST on the export
goods, which was thereafter claimed as cash refund. Thus, the government
exchequer was put at double loss -- on one hand ITC was obtained on goods where
no tax was paid and on the other hand IGST paid from such fraudulently availed
ITC was obtained as cash refund.
The amount of IGST refund obtained is estimated to be
approximately Rs 61 crore.
Also Read: Rs 1.21 lakh crore returned by tax department, did you get yours?
DGGI, Headquarters searched the exporter companies and
residence of their owner as well as premises of various supplier companies on
March 6. These suppliers companies were found to have supplied only bills to
these exporters, without supply of goods. The exporters had taken ITC on these
fake bills and had taken refund of the same as the goods were shown to be exported.
The controllers of the export firms were arrested on March 6
by the DGGI. However, the Ludhiana based owner of the supplier firms was on the
run and was untraceable. He was not appearing for investigations even after
various summons.
The said owner of supplier firms appears to be a habitual
economic offender and numerous cases have been made against him and his
companies. Earlier, he had also been put under preventive detention under
COFEPOSA in a case of commercial fraud investigated by the DGRI.
A reliable input was received that the said person was
hiding in Shimla and was staying at a renowned Five Star Hotel. A team of
officers was deputed to visit Shimla, which traced him in the said Hotel and
arrested him in the morning of October 7. Subsequent upon his arrest, he was
produced before the competent court and was sent to judicial custody at Tihar
Central Jail for 14 days.
Further investigations in the matter are in progress.
(With inputs of IANS)