State GST Deptt arrests man for bogus ITC claim
   Date :29-Sep-2022

GST Deptt arrests man 
 
 
 
Staff Reporter
Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax (GST) Department, Nagpur, has arrested one person for bogus Input Tax Credit (ITC) claim on the basis of fake invoices for transactions worth Rs 39 crore. On Wednesday, the accused was produced before the Judicial Magistrate First Class, who sent the accused to judicial custody for 14 days.
While analysing a newly registered taxpayer by comprehensive analytic tools of Maharashtra GST Department and information available on GST Portal, the department noticed that suspicious business activities of fabricating network of ‘non-genuine’ taxpayer entities was being carried out for claiming bogus ITC and passing on the same by issuing ‘fake invoices’ amounting to more than Rs 39 crore, read an official statement issued by Maharashtra GST Department. In connection with this, Nagpur-based person Vijay Laxmanrao Peshane was arrested on September 27 by the department’s Nagpur office.
The investigation by the department revealed that a network of ‘non-genuine’ taxpayer entities was created and fraudulent ITC claim was passed on through them and subsequently passed on by issuing fake invoices to M/s Satwai Industries and M/s Birla Batteries. Peshane was allegedly found claiming ‘fake ITC’ through such ‘fake network’ and thereby claimed, utilised this ‘fake credit’ at Rs 6.98 crore.
Deepak Shirgurwar, Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, with the help of Sachin R Dhodre, Assistant Commisioner of State Tax, and Santosh Hemane, and team of State Tax Inspectors and Tax Assistants of Investigation Branch, Nagpur, conducted the investigation under the supervision of Ananta J Rakh, Additional Commissioner of State Tax, Nagpur Zone; Sanjay Kandhare, Joint Commissioner of State Tax (ADM), Nagpur Division; and Vilas B Padvi, Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Investigation). The department is taking every possible efforts for tracing out defaulter dealers making fraud transactions, circular transactions, and issuing fake invoices to avail ITC. In this financial year, Maharashtra GST Department has arrested 44 tax evaders.