GST officers unearth 461 fake entities involved in Rs 863 cr ITC fraud

The GST Intelligence officers have unearthed a racket involving 461 shell/fake entities, which had passed on fraudulent input tax credit of Rs 863 crore.

According to the Finance Ministry, the Gurugram Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence busted the racket, which passed on fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) through fake shell entities following a search operation.

"Huge number of forged/ morphed/ fake soft copies of documents like rent agreements, electricity bills, Aadhar card, driving license, PAN card, etc. were detected in the laptops resumed from this secret office, which were used to create and operate their fake entities.

"The forensic examination of the laptops, devices seized from this office led to the eventual detection of ITC fraud to the tune of Rs 863 crore, involving fake 461 entities and arrest of two key operatives," the ministry said on Thursday.

The initial investigation indicates that the fraudulent ITC credit has eventually travelled to the high evasion-prone metal/iron and steel sector, it added.