AS A follow-up of the detection of a non-existent advertising firm in Dhule which had availed and passed on fake Input Tax Credit (ITC), searches by Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Nagpur Zonal Unit were conducted at the premises of a Mumbai based private limited company M/s M & M Advisors and Consultants Private Limited and at the residences of its director and chartered accountants. This company was registered for licensing services for the right to broadcast and show movies.

 

The searches uncovered a number of documents, the examination of which revealed that the company was engaged in licencing of movie rights of firm production houses for broadcasting on national and international channels and had declared itself to be the sole rights holder of movies produced by big production houses. The company was purchasing the rights of movies produced by the top banners and was transferring these rights under contract system to rights assignors, who were availing ITC.

 

Preliminary scrutiny of the documents revealed that this company had undertaken fraudulent transactions of Rs 290.70 crore and had passed on fake ITC of Rs 25.22 crore to rights assignors, the ultimate beneficiaries. During investigations, the rights assignors paid the entire ITC of Rs 25,22,62,786 in cash, which was the ITC passed on by this company. The director of the company Pradeep Ashok Malankar who on inquiries with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was found to be the Director of three more companies, was arrested at Mumbai on December 5, 2020 and has been remanded to Judicial custody by the court till December 18, 2020.