Tax Department Cracks Down GST Frauds Worth Rs 7,896 crore

The indirect tax department is on a spree to bust GST frauds so that the ambitious revenue collection targets set by the department are met. Officers from the Anti-Evasion wing of Central Tax,  Delhi West Commissionerate have cracked a racket worth Rs 7, 896 crore involving fake invoices. Two individuals concerning this matter have also been arrested.

It is alleged that the accused individuals formed a network of 23 shell companies that procured and issued invoices without actually supplying the goods. This is probably the most significant case of ITC fraud, according to the department.

Last week, Delhi East Commissionerate cracked another ITC scam involving an ITC scam worth Rs 436 crore invoices. The accused individuals generated 17 fake companies to claim ITC worth Rs 11.55 crore fraudulently.

Also Read: CBIC’s Measures to Crack GST Fraud; No Limits to Link Bank Accounts

Ajit Kumar, chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), has confirmed in a note (dated 2 March) to the department officers that there is a need to intensify these measures to expose fraudulent ITC and duty avoidance. He says that to identify these fraudsters, all steps have to be taken, technically or otherwise.

The chairman also said that the use of risk management and analytics had improved the battle against such unscrupulous elements and the implementation of e-invoicing would only strengthen the efforts of the department in this regard.

In the last quarter of the financial year, the revenue department had set a target to collect Rs 3.45 lakh as GST. The government has collected Rs 2.15 lakh crore in the first two months, which means the collection needs to be Rs 1.30 lakh crore in March. In April 2019 GST’s highest monthly revenue was Rs 1.13 lakh crore.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at bhavana.pn@cleartax.in