A major crackdown on fake GST invoicing racket by DGGI
A massive racket involving fake invoicing to the tune of a whopping Rs.1,481 crore has been busted by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI), Meerut Zonal Unit.
The fake invoicing resulted in the passing of fraudulent input tax credits to the tune of Rs.275 crore. As many as 102 fake firms were created to rake in the money through 1,000 fraud companies.
As the investigation unfolds, it has also revealed the involvement of bank officials in the establishment of bank accounts under the names of fictitious firms.
“Through meticulous data mining, the DGGI Meerut Zonal Unit has successfully dismantled a major syndicate operated by four masterminds,” the Finance Ministry said on late on Monday evening.
One of them, working in a placement consultancy firm, was responsible for arranging PAN, Aadhaar, electricity bills, address proof, and other documents required for GST registration. To achieve this, the mastermind enticed candidates with modest financial perks in exchange for surrendering their KYC documents which were used to carry out the fraud.
The operations were carried out through a secret office where crucial operational activities, such as invoice generation, e-way bill creation, GST returns filing, and maintaining sale-purchase ledgers of the fraudulent firms, took place. To aid in their operations, the syndicate recruited several assistants.
The syndicate maintained connections with numerous middlemen who provided essential information for generating counterfeit invoices to benefit the ultimate beneficiaries.
During the operation, DGGI officers conducted coordinated raids at multiple locations and seized a vast cache of incriminating evidence, including laptops, desktops, electronic storage devices, PAN and Aadhaar cards, cheque books, more than 25 mobiles, SIM cards used for receiving OTPs, rubber stamps of shell entities, etc.
All four accused individuals were presented before the Economic Offence Court in Meerut and have been sent to judicial custody until November 17.
[With Inputs from IANS]
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Tom & Jerry games have began !! Time for more stricter punishment without bail & parole, with seizing of properties of entire generation & ostracize them from all private & public functions, dealing with society, no marriages with that family to be allowed, no schools for their children…etc. in short, living death