Registration of 129 bogus traders cancelled

Delhi government has cancelled the registration certificates of around 129 bogus traders who have evaded more than Rs 2,000 crore in value added tax (VAT) in the past one year.
The turnover of these bogus companies was shown to be Rs 5,000 crores annually and during physical verification by the authorities, these companies were found non-existent.
"Last week Value Added Tax Inspectors (VATIs) visited the various premises and 129 high risk dealers were found with bogus declared turnover of Rs 5,025.55 crore for the year 2013-14 and registration certificates of such dealers were cancelled," Commissioner (Trade & Tax) Amit Yadav said today.

The department is constantly carrying out raids to nab more of such evaders whose numbers could run into thousands, he said.
These traders have been found to use bogus receipts to accept and make transactions thereby evading the taxes to the state exchequer. These bogus dealers secure registration by providing wrong credentials, officials said.
Some of the companies, officials said were located in slum areas running in small jhuggies, and some were traced to barren lands where there were no concrete constructions.
With the computerisation of operations, VAT officials are now able to see the accounts and access the business dealings of each trader through the unique Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN).

The online system has exposed VAT evasion and fake or non-existent dealers.