Fake GST invoicing of Rs 150 cr detected

New Delhi: The Central Goods and Services Tax Delhi North Commissionerate has unearthed a racket of fake GST invoicing involving an amount of Rs 150 crore, with respect to which, the accused had facilitated fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) of about Rs 22 crore, thus defrauding the public exchequer, officials here said.

They added that the accused Naveen Mutreja and Keshav Ram were found to be operating up to 42 fake firms as part of their modus operandi. Both Mutreja and Ram were arrested on Thursday and subsequently remanded to 14 days in judicial custody.

Both the accused were allegedly involved in obtaining GST registration for fake firms across Delhi NCR, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh using documents of unsuspecting individuals and generating good-less invoices and e-way bills of these firms from a premise in Karol Bagh, Delhi.

A preliminary probe shows that there is no nexus between inward and outward supplies of the errant firms, the officials said. Further, these fake firms have passed on fraudulent ITC to a range of buyers who have availed the same to discharge their GST liability on outward supplies.

Investigations are underway to identify the key beneficiaries of this racket and to recover GST involved.