Fake firms racket busted, mastermind surrenders
JAIPUR: A racket of fake firms worth ₹122 crore has been busted by an anti-evasion team of CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Alwar unit, officials said on Saturday. The mastermind of the racket surrendered before a court on Friday.
“Acting on intelligence that Bharatpur-based charted accountant Abhishek Singhal, owner of Singhal Abhishek and Associates, is involved in creating fake firms worth ₹122 crore which have fraudulently availed input tax credit of crores of rupees on the basis of goods-less invoices, investigations were initiated by an anti-evasion team of the CGST’S Alwar commissionerate,” an official from the antievasion unit said wishing not to be named.
Input tax credit (ITC) is a tax paid by a buyer on purchase of goods or services. Such tax, which is paid at the purchase, when reduced from liability payable on outward supplies is known as input tax credit.
As Singhal did not appear before the CGST department in response to summons issued to him, a non-bailable warrant was issued against him by an economic offence court in Jaipur on Friday.
“Singhal, who was absconding for more than a year, surrendered on Friday before an economic offence court and was sent to judicial custody,” the official said, adding that offences committed by Singhal are punishable under relevant section of the CGST Act.
The official said during the course of investigation, it came to light that Singhal was involved in creating huge number of fake firms, of which 38 firms have come to light till now.
“Investigation in the matter is on and it is suspected that many more fake firms may be unearthed during the course of investigation. Singhal by virtue of being a charted accountant
had access to the personal documents of many individuals and firms. He misused these documents for creating fake firms. He altered and forged the documents such as rent agreement, electricity bill etc and on basis of these forged documents he created huge number of fake firms,” the official said.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha on March 2 last year, union minister of state for finance Anurag Singh Thakur quantified total GST evasion at ₹70,206.96 crore between July 2017 and January 2020, of which ₹34,591.21 crore was recovered.
In Rajasthan, between July 2017 and January 2021, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence arrested 25 people of which 21 have been arrested for issuing fake invoices. The total detected amount in major fake invoice cases is ₹798.88 crore, of which ₹204.86 crore has been recovered.