NEW DELHI: In a major action, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has busted a racket of exporter companies involved in defrauding the exchequer through fraudulent claims of input tax credit (ITC) and cash refund of around Rs 61 crore.
An intelligence was developed by the officers of DGGI that few exporter comp anies were engaged in fraudulent availing of ITC on the invoices of non-existing and fictitious firms or such firms which apparently do not have any purchases themselves.
The ITC so availed was utilized to pay IGST on the export goods, which was thereafter claimed as cash refund. Thus, the government exchequer was put at double loss — on one hand ITC was obtained on goods where no tax was paid and on the other hand IGST paid from such fraudulently availed ITC was obtained as cash refund.
The amount of IGST refund obtained is estimated to be approximately Rs 61 crore.
DGGI, Headquarters searched the exporter companies and residence of their ow ner as well as premises of various supplier companies on March 6. These suppliers companies were found to have supplied only bills to these exporters, without supply of goods. The exporters had taken ITC on these fake bills and h ad taken refund of the same as the goods were shown to be exported.
The controllers of the export firms were arrested on March 6 by the DGGI. However, the Ludhiana based owner of the supplier firms was on the run and was untraceable. He was not appearing for investigations even after various summons.
The said owner of supplier firms appears to be a habitual economic offender and numerous cases have been made against him and his companies. Earlier, he had also been put under preventive detention under COFEPOSA in a case of commercial fraud investigated by the DGRI.
A reliable input was received that the said person was hiding in Shimla and w as staying at a renowned Five Star Hotel. A team of officers was deputed to visit Shimla, which traced him in the said Hotel and arrested him in the morn ing of October 7. Subsequent upon his arrest, he was produced before the competent court and was sent to judicial custody at Tihar Central Jail for 14 days.
Further investigations in the matter are in progress.
IANS