Navi Mumbai: One held by CGST in Rs 10 cr fake input tax credit racket

Officials of the CGST Navi Mumbai had busted a fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket of Rs 10.68 crores and have arrested the proprietor of M/s Navnit Steels on Wednesday. The firm has engaged in allegedly availing and utilizing a fraudulent ITC on the bogus invoices of Rs 60 crore, thereby defrauding the government exchequer.

According to the CGST, a team of officers of Anti-Evasion of CGST had conducted an enquiry against the aforesaid firm. As per the statement of the proprietor, the said firm is involved in trade of raw material and finished goods of Aluminium and steel. However, the investigation revealed that the taxpayer has availed and passed on fake ITC from various non-existing/bogus firms. The accused has been arrested and was produced before the court at Belapur on Thursday and was sent on judicial custody for 14 days.

This case is a part of Anti-Evasion drive launched by CGST, Mumbai Zone against the fraudsters and tax evaders who create unhealthy competition for compliant taxpayers and defrauding the Government exchequer. As a part of this drive, Navi Mumbai Commissionerate has detected tax evasion of Rs 425 crore, recovered Rs 20 crores and arrested 11 persons recently.

"The CGST Department is using data analysis tools to identify tax evaders. By using data analysis and network analysis, the officers of CGST Mumbai zone have booked more than 625 tax evasion cases, detected tax evasion of Rs. 5500 Crore, recovered Rs. 630 Crore and arrested 48 persons, in the last five months. The CGST department is going to intensify the drive against the fraudsters and tax evaders which are causing unfair competition with honest taxpayers and defrauding the government exchequer of its rightful revenue in the coming days and months," said an official.