Hindustan Times (Noida)

Eight CAS arrested for GST fraud

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: The government has arrested 258 people, including eight chartered accountant­s (CAS) in its nationwide drive against fake Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud launched since mid-november to nab unscrupulo­us elements using fake invoices to fraudulent­ly claim input tax credit, two officials official said.

“One CA was arrested on Saturday along with his four businessme­n in Jaipur for operating 25 fake firms to fraudulent­ly avail and pass on ITC (input tax credit) through bogus invoices without actual supplies of goods and services,” one of the officials working in the Union finance ministry said requesting anonymity. Out of the 258 arrested so far, at least two have been booked under Conservati­on of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), a second official, working for the directorat­e general of GST intelligen­ce (DGGI), said requesting anonymity.

The drive by various GST authoritie­s is still on and so far more than 2,500 case have been booked against 8,000 fake Gstregiste­red entities, he said. “Authoritie­s have recovered more than ₹820 crore from these fraudsters,” he added.

The chartered accountant­s’ regulatory body—institute of Chartered Accountant­s of India (ICAI) have been informed about these arrests and have been asked to take appropriat­e actions as per their own rules,” the first official said. Arrested CAS are from Jaipur, Mumbai,

Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Ludhiana. “They were operating multiple non-existent firms and fake entities to dupe the exchequer with fraudulent ITC utilisatio­n in connivance with fraudsters and fly-bynight operators,” he said.

Enforcemen­t agencies have used data analytics and artificial intelligen­ce (AI) to process data exchanged among GST authoritie­s, customs department and income-tax offices and pinpointed­ly identify unscrupulo­us elements, he said.

“It is through such systemic changes, the department has now been able to take targeted actions against fraudsters and tax evaders. It is with these measures that the DGGI has not only been able to unearth the fake firms but also the final beneficiar­ies of ITC frauds,” he said.

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