PremiumGST fraud: Two people have been arrested for illegally availing and passing on input tax credit (ITC) of over ₹10 crore, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.
In a statement, the ministry said that the CGST Commissionerate, Faridabad, Haryana has arrested two directors of F2C Wellness Pvt Ltd on charges of fraudulently availing and passing on input tax credit by issuance of invoices without supply of goods.
The firm showed purchase of cement from non-existent concern namely Vishal Enterprises, Gautam Buddha Nagar using fraudulent invoices not backed by concomitant supply of goods, showing fake transport records, the ministry said.
In this way, F2C Wellness had passed fraudulent credit of ₹10.33 crore on invoices without accompanying goods to various end users.
The investigation spanned multiple locations in Delhi and NCR area and based on documentary evidence and statements recorded, it was ascertained that Paras Arora and Devpal Soni, both directors of the said firm, were key players in the network of companies availing fraudulent ITC, the ministry added.
Accordingly, Arora and Soni were arrested and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridabad, who has sent them to judicial custody for 14 days.
"A total fraudulent ITC of ₹10.33 crore has thus been passed/availed by the said firm...Further investigation in the matter is under progress," the ministry said.
Last month, a Delhi-based businessman was arrested for an alleged ₹128 crore GST-related fraud, news agency PTI reported citing a senior official. According to the report, investigations conducted by the officials of the Chandigarh zonal unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) revealed that the accused was allegedly involved in issuing invoices without actually procuring goods and thus passing on input tax credit to various beneficiaries at several places, including Delhi and Chandigarh.
The accused had set up six firms with an intention of passing on the fake ITC to multiple beneficiaries, the official of the Chandigarh zonal unit of the DGGI said.
