Delhi govt has unearthed Rs 262 crore cyber-tax fraud: Sisodia

The Delhi government has unearthed a cyber-tax fraud totalling Rs 262 crore committed by over 8,700 traders who were found showing fraudulent tax deposits into 13 banks since 2013, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday.

Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, said that the Trade and Taxes Department has registered a complaint with the Delhi Police's Economic Offences Wing (EOW) for registration of FIRs in the matter.

"Delhi govt tax authorities have unearthed a big cyber-tax fraud. More than 8,000 registered dealers have been found showing fraudulent tax deposits into 13 banks. The matter has been handed over to EOW, Delhi Police. AAP govt believes in zero tolerance to any corrupt practice," he tweeted.

Earlier in the day, the deputy chief minister said during the scrutiny of suspected fraud transactions, it was noticed that the fraud had been continuing since 2013.

"The government has detected cyber-tax fraud of Rs 262 crore. As per our initial investigation, around 8,700 traders were involved in the fraud. It is a very serious issue that should be investigated thoroughly by probe agencies," he said.

Sisodia also said the traders who were found involved in this fraud had tracked bank IDs and passwords, and also showed that they have deposited tax online, but in reality, they were not depositing tax.

The Delhi Police said Reena Toppo, VAT officer, Delhi, has lodged a complaint against some business firms which had claimed input tax credit under GST on the basis of fictitious documents and non-existent bank accounts.

Preliminary amount involved is Rs 9.97 crore and the complaint is being examined by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW), it said.