Rs 400 Cr GST scam uncovered in Lakhimpur district
Two non-existent business firms have embezzled money by preparing fake GST invoices and selling them to GST returnees.
The fraudulent activities came to light in a recent departmental investigation at the GST office in North Lakhimpur.
North Lakhimpur, Jan 31: A scam involving the preparation of fake GST bills in the name of non-existent businesses to loot crores of rupees has surfaced under the State GST department in Lakhimpur district.
The fraudulent activities came to light in a recent departmental investigation at the GST office in North Lakhimpur when superintendent of GST Manoj Kumar Duwari checked the State GST data.
The check showed that two businesses, Adi Enterprise and PS Enterprise, two Central GST-registered firms, had been preparing some GST bills and issuing invoices to various businesses online from North Lakhimpur, thereby embezzling around Rs 400 crore by way of GST fraud.
An investigation by the tax department in North Lakhimpur showed that the two companies concerned, Adi Enterprise owned by Aniket Swacharia and Geetashree Goswami and PS Enterprise owned by Pritam Swacharia, are non-existent.
The two non-existent business firms have embezzled money by preparing fake GST invoices and selling them to GST returnees. Manoj Kumar Duwari said that the two business firms came under suspicion as one invoice showed purchases of timber from Rajasthan by a firm from Assam and its subsequent sale in Kerala—a most unlikely kind of trade between these states.
The non-matching movement of trucks from Rajasthan to Assam and Kerala through toll gates led to more suspicion and consequent investigation by the tax department here.
According to the investigators, both the companies took fake IPCS (Input Tax Credits) from businesses outside Assam and supplied such invoices to other businesses online.
They had been evading taxes by manipulating invoices online without buying or selling any goods. This exempted them from paying large amounts of taxes as GST. The investigation also found that institutions with which the two firms dealt were also fake and non-existent.After the incident came to light, Duwari informed the central commissioner of GST in Tezpur, following which the GST intelligence directorate (ID) investigated the matter and registered a case against Adi Enterprise and PS Enterprise.
The GST ID also arrested the owners of the two establishments, Aniket Swacharia and Pritam Swacharia, from Guwahati.
By-
Farhana Ahmed