GST fraud of Rs 20,124 cr detected during Nov 9-Jan 31: Sitharaman

A nationwide special drive against unscrupulous entities for availing and passing on Input Tax Credit fraudulently is being carried out, FM said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha

The government has detected GST fraud of Rs 20,124 crore between November 9, 2020, and January 31, 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.

A nationwide special drive against unscrupulous entities for availing and passing on Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraudulently on the strength of fake/bogus invoices is being carried out, she said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Giving details of detection/recovery from November 9, 2020 (Date of initiation of special drive) to January 31, the minister said 2,692 cases were booked by the officers involving GST/ITC fraud of Rs 20,124.19 crore.

The amount recovered during the period was Rs 857.75 crore and 282 persons were arrested.

In reply to a separate question, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur said the income tax department has detected undisclosed income of Rs 2,223.88 crore between April-December of the current fiscal.

Also, searches were conducted on 250 groups between April-December, 2020, and total assets seized stood at Rs 6,500.78 crore.

"A robust risk profiling mechanism has been put in place to identify and monitor high-risk cases primarily through use of information technology and appropriate action is taken as per the law," Thakur added.