Fake Input Tax Credit Fraud of ₹48 Crore Uncovered in Mumbai
By: Admin
October 10, 2024
Categories: GST Recent News
4 Min Read
In a major crackdown, the anti-evasion team of the Thane Central Excise & CGST Commissionerate (Mumbai Zone) has busted a fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) scam involving fraudulent claims of ₹48 crore. The accused, Hitesh Shantilal Vasa, was arrested on Thursday for masterminding the racket.
Authorities revealed that Vasa had set up 22 shell companies by misusing KYC documents such as Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, and other identity proofs of his relatives and other individuals. Through these fake firms, he carried out proxy and dummy transactions, allowing him to claim ineligible ITC worth ₹48 crore.
Further investigations revealed that Vasa passed on ₹44 crore of the fraudulent ITC to other entities without any real movement of goods or services. He was also involved in circular trading to artificially inflate the turnover of these dummy companies.
In addition, Vasa exploited the KYC documents of the unsuspecting document holders to register GST numbers in their names, falsely presenting them as proprietors, partners, or directors of these fake firms. He also opened bank accounts in their names to further the fraudulent activities.
Vasa has been arrested under Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017, for violations of Section 132, which deals with offenses related to tax fraud. He was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Thane and has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
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