'Probe still at nascent stage': HC refuses to quash summons in GST fraud case
New Delhi: Observing that there should be reasonable apprehension of coercion by the GST Department for 'summons proceedings' to be conducted through CCTV cameras, the Delhi High Court refused to quash the summons against a person accused of creating numerous fake firms and availing Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraudulently.
According to legal news website Live Law, the single bench of Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar has refused to quash the summons on the grounds that the investigation is still at a nascent stage and that the present case involves fraud of Rs 350 crore approximately and around 200 firms are involved in placing fraudulent ITC.
Pursuant to some intelligence received that a group of unscrupulous persons in collusion with some custom house agents (CHAs) were actively involved in evasion of GST by making exports from some non-existent firms, Senior Intelligence Officer, Director General of GST, Ghaziabad Regional Unit commenced inquiry and carried out certain searches at the purported premises of one M/s Heritage International at Delhi. The search was carried out at the office premises of petitioner/accused, wherein documents related to the firms of petitioner were seized. It was alleged that the mastermind involved in the creation of numerous fake firms and a huge amount of fraudulent Input Tax Credit has been availed.
