From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI, Aug 24: In a significant development, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Guwahati zonal unit, has arrested the proprietor of a Meghalaya-based coke factory on charges of evading taxes worth over Rs 150 crore.
According to reports, Shiv Kumar Mittal, the owner of GM Coke, located in Byrnihat, was arrested and taken into custody from Tinsukia in Upper Assam on Saturday evening.
Mittal had reportedly sourced coke from several illegal plants in Meghalaya and routed the purchases through fake invoices, allegedly in the name of dummy firms, thereby evading considerable tax liabilities.
He is currently under police interrogation and investigation is under way to trace the larger connections of illegal coal and coke trade and identify whether there are other beneficiaries in the nexus.
The businessman’s arrest comes in the wake of a recent operation in Guwahati, during which four individuals were detained by the DGGI for their involvement in a major fake invoicing syndicate amounting to over Rs 500 crore.
Subsequent investigation brought to the fore large-scale irregularities in the purchase and sale of coke in Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh.
Notably, the DGGI has intensified its operations against traders engaged in fake invoicing and tax evasion and arrested 11 persons in the last eight months.