GST officers bust network of 46 fake firms used to claim Rs 82 cr ITC

GST officers have busted a network of 46 fake firms which used to generate fake invoices and fraudulently avail input tax credit (ITC) worth Rs 82.23 crore, the finance ministry said on Tuesday.

Through the use of extensive data analytics, officers of Delhi East GST were able to identify and unravel a network of 46 fake firms which were operating since 2017 and had passed on fake ITC to multiple of beneficiaries, it said in a statement.

"The investigation conducted revealed that the fictitious firms were being controlled by Arvind Kumar and his associates. He was arrested on January 17 and is in judicial custody till date," the ministry added.

The ministry further said Kamal Singh (alias Kamal Solanki), a key associate of Kumar, also has confessed to have been involved in the racket of fake billing through which fake invoices of Rs 541.13 crore were raised involving fake ITC of Rs 82.23 crore, which is expected to increase as the investigation progresses.

Kamal Singh has also been arrested and remanded to judicial custody till February 23.

Since the inception of the GST Central Tax Delhi Zone, 21 have been arrests in various cases involving GST evasion amounting to more than Rs 3,791.65 crore, the Ministry said.