Thane CGST & CX Commissionerate Uncovers ₹34.74 Crore Fake ITC Racket, Arrests 3 Key Accused

Mumbai: Thane CGST & CX Commissionerate, one of the Commissionerate within Mumbai CGST & CX Zone, busted a massive fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket. The operation involved 19 fictitious entities that collectively passed on fraudulent ITC worth Rs 34.74 crore.

The follow-up operation, carried out by the Commissionerate, led to the seizure of incriminating documents, including fake invoices, cheque books, laptops, pen drives, and other items containing detailed information about the fake firms involved.

The investigation has revealed that the scheme was orchestrated by mastermind Bhaven Kachiya patel, along with his accomplices Dilip Bhatt and Hardik Shah. The trio played a crucial role in recruiting individuals by offering monetary inducements in exchange for their identification documents, including AADHAR cards, PAN cards, and other KYC documents and the same were put to use for the purpose of taking GST registrations in the names of such persons as Proprietors or Directors and opening bank account in the name of such firms.

The accused floated 19 fake firms, facilitating the fraudulent availing of ITC worth approximately Rs 40.66 crore, out of which Rs 34.74 crore was successfully passed on.

The three accused were arrested friday and produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Thane. The Magistrate has remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days, up to 13th September 2024.Further investigations into the matter are ongoing.