The Maharashtra State GST department has taken decisive action against a tax evader who availed and utilised fraudulent GST Input Tax Credit (ITC) of over Rs 6 Crores from bogus invoices of over Rs 34 Crores, official said on Thursday.
During the investigation, it was revealed that Prabhakar Venu, the owner of the VV Corporation, engaged in tax evasion by accepting fictitious payments from non-existent and fraudulent traders. The total value of taxes evaded amounted to Rs 6 Crore 26 Lakh.
He was apprehended under Section 132 (1) (c) of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act 2017. Following thorough investigative procedures, he was placed under special investigation proceedings. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody for a duration of 14 days by the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Pune.
The collaborative efforts of various officials have driven this operation. Under the leadership of Additional State Tax Commissioner Dhananjay Akhade, personnel including Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (Nodal-2 Pune) Deepak Bhandare, Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Investigation-2 Pune) Manisha Gopale-Bhoir, as well as Assistant Commissioners of State Tax Bharat Suryavanshi, Satish Lanka, and Sachin Sangle, along with a team of State Tax Inspectors, have displayed commendable performance.
The Maharashtra GST Tax Department has been relentless in its pursuit of justice. This financial year, a total of 11 arrests have been made in significant cases related to tax evasion.
