SIT probe into sales tax collection scam in Gurugram gets murkier

Gurugram: The case of alleged misappropriation of sales tax collections in Gurugram, being probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed by the Haryana government, is becoming murkier by the day, with the involvement of senior public officials coming to light.

Sources said investigators are have begun uncovered the role of many government officials, who were reportedly involved in fudging of bills and not giving correct information for input tax figures.

Some high-profile arrests are also likely to be made in the case, even as the government has begun the process of transferring tainted officials.

More than six months after the probe was first launched, corruption cases are now being unearthed in the Goods and Service Tax (GST) process.

In a recent case of fraud, a fake company, which claimed that the input credit cost from the government was covered under the GST, was found to be fraudulent.

The whole incident came to the fore after a company Vipin Enterprises, which mentioned its office to be located in Gurugram's Sector-40, sought the repayment of input credit cost of Rs 5 crore from the state government.

Upon investigation, it was found out that the area which the company claimed to be located in was in reality a barber shop.

After this case, concerns have arisen that there could be more fake firms operating in the city, duping the state government with regards to collection of input credit cost.

Sources indicate that over 16 companies are being probed by the Excise department.

"It is not a new phenomenon that corruption cases like these are only happening during the GST era. In fact, GST has resulted in more transparency. With most of the things done online, government agencies can easily track the fake companies and bring them to book," said Ashwini Thakkar, a tax expert.

According to the Haryana government, the state has collected over Rs 30,000 crore in GST.

Yet, the presence of over 2.5 lakh traders has resulted in grievances of distribution of the input credit cost.