ACB uncovers ₹718 cr GST refund scam; GST officer held

NEW DELHI: The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of Delhi has unearthed a massive scam involving fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds within the Trade & Taxes department of the Delhi government, resulting in the arrest of one GST Officer, three advocates, two transporters, and one kingpin.

The Anti-Corruption Branch of Delhi were informed about the scam through a complaint received from the GST office. According to police reports, the investigation revealed that fake invoices totaling nearly 718 crore rupees were used to claim these fraudulent refunds.

Around 500 non-existent firms were found to be involved in the scam, conducting fake business activities, including the export of medical items, solely to claim bogus GST refunds. The arrested GST Officer, Babita Sharma, is alleged to have played a central role in approving these fraudulent refunds in collusion with the owners of 96 fake firms.

Babita Sharma, who was previously assigned to Ward No. 6, was transferred to Ward No. 22 in July 2021. Shortly after her transfer, 53 firms applied for migration from Ward No. 6 to Ward No. 22, and their requests were swiftly approved by Sharma.

The Vigilance/GST Department’s physical verification revealed several firms were non-existent, prompting an ACB investigation. The probe uncovered multiple violations, including unverified Input Tax Credit (ITC) refunds, missing suppliers, and lack of Aadhaar authentication. Fraudulent activities were indicated by firms sharing the same PAN, email, and mobile numbers. Arrested individuals include advocates Raj Singh Saini, Narender Kumar Saini, and Mukesh Saini, transporters Surjeet Singh and Lalit Kumar, and Manoj Goyal, the mastermind behind the fake firms.