Trombay Police Book Lucknow CA For GST Fraud, ₹4.69 Crore Liability Imposed On Mumbai Shop Owner

Mumbai: The Trombay police have registered a case against a Lucknow-based chartered accountant, Rashid Rais Siddiqui, for allegedly cheating his friend by illegally misusing a GST account opened in the latter’s name, resulting in a potential tax liability of Rs4.69 crore.

Complainant

According to the FIR, the complainant Nasir Hussain Kadar Hussain Sheikh, 36, is employed as an IT support executive at a company in BKC and resides at Cheeta Camp, Trombay, with his family. He also owns a mobile phone shop named New India Enterprises at Cheeta Camp, which is managed by his elder brother.

In February 2018, Nasir decided to start an e-commerce website called Hipcart for online mobile sales, for which a GST registration was mandatory. During a visit to Aminabad, Lucknow, in 2016, Nasir was introduced to Rashid Siddiqui his friend Yusuf Sheikh’s cousin who claimed to be a chartered accountant. Over time, the two developed a friendship.

Siddiqui offered to obtain a GST registration for Nasir’s business and, on March 5, 2018, asked for his Aadhaar card, PAN card, and electricity bill. After receiving the documents, Siddiqui informed Nasir on March 13, 2018, that the GST account had been successfully opened and shared the GST certificate via WhatsApp.

Tax notice

However, Nasir’s online business never took off, and no sales were recorded. In June 2018, Siddiqui informed him that GST filing was required. Nasir then decided to shut down the GST account, as there had been no transactions. Siddiqui allegedly took Rs3,000 to close the account and assured Nasir that he would send an acknowledgement slip. The slip was never provided, and Siddiqui soon stopped responding to calls.

In February 2020, Nasir received a notice from the GST office in Belapur, Navi Mumbai, stating that Rs28 lakh was outstanding against his GST account. Nasir immediately approached the GST authorities, informing them in writing that no transactions had taken place and that Siddiqui had closed the account. His friend Yusuf Sheikh and brother accompanied him.

Later, Nasir was informed that Siddiqui had allegedly opened GST accounts in the names of several individuals and carried out fraud worth crores of rupees, following which Siddiqui was arrested in multiple cases, the FIR stated.

Bank freeze

On June 15, 2023, GST Superintendent Sunil Aher summoned Nasir under Section 108 of the Customs Act and conducted an extensive examination of his bank accounts, including Kotak Mahindra Bank and ICICI Bank, for the past five years. No suspicious transactions were found in Nasir’s accounts.

Despite this, in August 2024, Nasir received another notice from the GST department stating that fraudulent transactions had taken place through his GST account during 2017–18 and 2018–19, and that a penalty of Rs4,69,10,562 was payable. During a personal hearing held in November 2024, Nasir again explained the entire incident and requested action against Siddiqui.

Subsequently, Nasir discovered that his ICICI Bank salary account showed a minus entry of Rs4.69 crore and that the account had been frozen by GST authorities. Following this, Nasir lodged a formal complaint at the Trombay police station.

Based on his complaint, the police have registered a case under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, against Rashid Siddiqui and have initiated further investigation.

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