Haryana Police arrest 89, recover Rs 112 cr in GST fraud

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SME Times News Bureau | 18 Jan, 2021
In a well-coordinated operation against Goods and Services Tax (GST) scamsters, Haryana Police on Sunday said it busted four major gangs related to issuing or registration of bogus firms involved in fake invoice bills scam which defrauded the government exchequer to the tune of over Rs 464.12 crore.

The nexus of the fraudsters was active not only in Haryana but across the country.

The crackdown on GST fake invoice scam has also led to the recovery of over Rs 112 crore and unearthing of fake GST identification numbers (GSTIN).

A total of 72 police cases have been filed so far in which 89 accused have been arrested by the Crime Branch. Among the total arrest, 40 cases have been registered against on Govind Sharma, Gaurav, Anupam Singla and Rakesh Arora.

Director General of Police Manoj Yadava said these persons issued fraudulent invoices to numerous firms and companies without actual supply of goods through fraudulent e-way bills (GST related challans for transporting consignments) and facilitated fake income tax credit entitlement on GST portal through GSTR-3B form.

It has also been revealed that fraudulent income tax credit worth crores of rupees has been passed by these gangs using fake GST invoices, e-way bills and with the help of forged bank transactions.

During the course of investigations, it has also come to light that out of the arrested persons, some are white-collar economic repeated offenders.

Police has also blocked inadmissible income tax credit worth of Rs 97.22 crore in the Excise and Taxation Department.

Yadava congratulated DGP, Crime, Mohd Akil and his entire team for their performance in busting the racket involved in GST scam.

A total of 21 FIRs against fake firms belonging to the Govind gang active in Panipat and adjoining areas were lodged in 2019 while other three gangs involved in major GST evasion were booked between 2018 and 2019.

Police has so far blocked income tax credit of these gangs to the tune of over Rs 80 crore.

The DGP said the major goods involved in these GST invoice scams were scrap, iron and steel articles, cotton yarn, paper, etc. The drive against the GST evaders and income tax credit fraudsters is expected to intensify and more arrests are likely in the future.

Maximum fraudsters in these gangs used to first register fake firms on the GST portal in the name of gullible people and then generate fake invoices, bills of these firms by using software apps like BusyApp, TallyApp, Shkun Software, etc, and then uploading these bills to generate e-way bills on the GST portal.

"We have conducted a statewide drive against GST fake invoice fraud and requested the department concerned seeking all the records. As the beneficiaries (income tax credit claimants) are from various parts of Haryana and other states too, we are coordinating with our counterparts to track the culprits involved in the fraud," Akil said.