Fake invoicing: 12 arrested including a CA in a single day, 329 since Nov

GST officers have arrested 12 persons, including a chartered accountant, in a single day, taking the total number of arrests made so far in fake invoicing cases to 329 in over three months, sources said.

While the GST intelligence and Central GST authorities have booked more than 3,200 cases against 9,600 fake GSTIN entities since the launch of nationwide drive against fake invoice frauds in mid-November last year, the authorities have also recovered more than Rs 1,000 crore from these fraudsters, they added.

Revenue Department sources said in the ongoing nationwide drive against fake GST invoice frauds, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and CGST Commissionerates have arrested 12 persons in a single day, including a chartered accountant.

According to the sources, out of the 329 arrests so far, there are 131 masterminds, 113 proprietors, 46 director/managing directors, 17 partners, 5 CEOs/CFOs/CMDs, 10 chartered accountants, 4 accountants and one each of company secretary, broker, and GST practitioner.

The arrested persons include fake entities operators and the end beneficiaries who connive with these fraudsters involved in bogus firms and/or issuance of fake invoices to fraudulently avail and pass on input tax credit (ITC) without actual supplies of goods/services.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities have been using data analytics, data sharing and artificial intelligence tools to unearth the ITC utilisation frauds via fake invoicing and bogus firms.

The drive against fake GST invoice frauds has pushed GST collections to record highs for over three months. GST mop-up stood at Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December 2020 and Rs 1.20 lakh crore in January 2021. Sources expect a similar trend in collections to continue this month as well.