Court refuses bail to those accused of circular trading to evade GST

The government has detected evasion of nearly Rs 4,000 crore on account of claiming input tax credit against fake invoices

A local court in Maharashtra has refused bail to persons accused of evading goods and services tax (GST) by circular trading and claiming input tax credits, and has ordered judicial custody. The accused plan to approach the Bombay High Court with a habeas corpus petition.

The state GST authorities have alleged that invoices have been raised in transactions among multiple companies without actual supply of goods. This is done to increase the turnover and avail bigger loans from banks, besides using input tax credit, and is called circular trading. They also alleged that the persons are not eligible for the bail