Mumbai: Father-son duo held by CGST officials in Rs 22 crore GST fraud

The officers of the Thane Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST) Commissionerate of Mumbai Zone have busted a fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket involving GST of Rs 22 crores and have arrested a father-son duo in the said case.

According to the CGST officials, acting on a tip-off from Central Intelligence Unit (CIU), Mumbai CGST Zone, the officers have arrested two businessmen who happen to be father and son duo, who are the proprietors of two separate firms located at Kandivali (W).

"Both the firms are registered with GST for trading in Ferrous Waste and Scrap etc and were indulging in fraudulent availment and passing of Input Tax Credit (ITC) to the tune of Rs 11.80 crores and Rs 10.23 crores respectively without receiving the goods or services in violation of the provisions of CGST Act 2017," said a CGST official.

He added, "Both these firms were availing fake ITC from the fake entities and passing on the same to other entities of this vicious network. The arrested duo was produced before the court on Tuesday which remanded them to 14 days judicial custody. This operation had been a part of a large-scale operation launched by the CGST Mumbai Zone to stamp out the fake ITC network which had been causing unhealthy competition with honest taxpayers and defrauding the government exchequer of its rightful taxes. The department is going to intensify the drive against the fraudsters and tax evaders in the days to come."