Daily wage worker gets Rs 22.86 lakh GST notice in identity theft case

When Janapati Venkateswarlu visited a Mee-Seva center to apply for a PAN card, the operator informed him that a PAN had already been issued in his name

A daily wage laborer in Telangana was taken aback after receiving a tax notice for Rs 22.86 lakh in unpaid GST dues, despite having no involvement in any business. The case seems to be an instance of identity theft, where his personal details were misused to fraudulently register a business and evade taxes.

 

“Several such cases came to light in the past as well. The primary reason for such cases is a misuse of credentials of such persons by people committing GST fraud. Hopefully, once the authorities are able to identify that the credentials were misused by people committing the fraud and persons to whom notices have been issued are also victims, corrective measures are to be taken by authorities themselves,” said Kamal Aggarwal, Senior Advisor, Singhania & Co.

 

What is the case

 

A few days ago, Janapati Venkateswarlu, a daily wage laborer from Chandrugonda, Telangana, received a DRC-7 notice dated March 4, sent to his residential address at house number 4-14, Temple Street. The notice, delivered via post, demanded Rs 22.86 lakh in unpaid GST dues, including tax, penalty, and interest, for the tax period 2022-23.

 

The notice was actually issued to Bhagya Laxmi Enterprise, a registered taxpayer with GSTIN: 37CKKPV6641Q1Z0, located at house number 60-12-5, Siddhartha Nagar, SBI Colony, Vijayawada. However, Venkateswarlu, an illiterate laborer living in a tin shed, was stunned to discover its contents with the help of educated locals.

 

Additionally, when he visited a Mee-Seva center to apply for a PAN card, the operator informed him that a PAN had already been issued in his name on September 22, 2024.

 

“A daily wage worker being burdened with a ₹22.86 lakh tax notice due to fraudulent misuse of his PAN and GST registration exposes a much deeper issue — this could be just the tip of the iceberg. Authorities must conduct a thorough internal inquiry, as such fraud could not have been executed without lapses or possible complicity within the system,” said Alay Razvi, Managing Partner, Accord Juris.

 

“The immediate legal recourse should involve filing a police complaint against both the culprits and any government officials who facilitated or failed to detect this fraud. Additionally, he must submit a formal complaint to the tax authorities and explore legal action, including seeking damages for the misuse of his identity,” Razvi said.

 

Here are some steps to stay protected:

 

Even if you are not a taxpayer, check your name in the GST portal (www.gst.gov.in) to ensure no fake registrations exist in your name.

 

Use the GSTIN Search feature on the portal to verify if any business is wrongly linked to your details.

 

Many fraudulent GST registrations happen using stolen or misused PAN/Aadhaar details. Do not share scanned copies of your documents with unknown entities.

 

Enable Aadhaar locking through UIDAI’s website if you don't use it frequently.

 

Regularly check CIBIL reports or credit reports to detect any unauthorised financial activity.