Bengal commercial taxes directorate unearths Rs 4,716 cr fake GST invoice rackets

Kolkata: Massive fake GST invoice rackets with a turnover of about Rs 4716 crore were unearthed by the Directorate of Commercial Taxes (state GST) of Bengal in which four key operators were arrested, officials said on Friday.

The operators used to lure unsuspecting individuals with petty cash or promises of employment and fraudulently obtained their PAN, Aadhaar and other identification documents. Using these documents, they incorporated several fake firms and obtained GST registrations.

According to officials, this is the first time in the history of the directorate since 1941 that arrests have been made directly under its Bureau of Investigation. Earlier, help from the police was taken for arrests, they said.

“The tax evasion involved in the two rackets was a staggering Rs 801 crore”, Directorate of Commercial Taxes Commissioner Khalid Anwar said.

The total turnover involved in these two rackets amounts to Rs 4,716 crore, Additional Commissioner Sudeshna

Mukhopadhyay said.

“A calibrated investigation since February has revealed that four operators created a network of 178 fake concerns in Bengal, issuing fraudulent invoices to evade Rs 801 crore in government tax revenue,” Mukhopadhyay said.

She said two Deputy Commissioners Somasree Kar and Madhumita Kundu are the investigating officers who unearthed these rackets with the help of a team of about 25 officers of the Bureau of Investigation,

South Bengal.

“They worked day and night to find out the entire trail. The investigation is still on,”

Mukhopadhyay said.

“To further their fraudulent activities, the operators forged rent agreements, electricity bills, property tax certificates, and even signatures of premises owners and notaries. The entire racket was fueled by money laundering through both banking channels and cash transactions,” Mukhopadhyay said.

One of the arrested individuals is in judicial custody, while the other three have been granted bail with a directive to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.

“We are currently preparing a prosecution complaint (charge sheet) to be filed before the court. Further investigations are underway to identify and apprehend other individuals involved in this massive tax evasion scheme,” Anwar said.(With Agency Inputs)