The Central GST and Central Excise has arrested a trader of iron and steel products from Bhilai in Chhattisgarh for allegedly passing on input tax credit of Rs 14.71 crores by issuing bogus invoices to many firms, a senior officer said on Friday.
The man, identified as Narayan Swamy, was arrested on Thursday by a Raipur-based team. It is the third arrest of kingpins involved in the fake invoice input credit racket, a press statement said.
During investigation it was found that M/s Narayan Steels had issued bogus invoices valued at Rs 96.44 crores to M/s Om Ispat, which further passed the ineligible ITC to M/s H K Enterprises (action against whom has been taken), it added.
M/s Narayan Steels, Bhilai, is a non-existent firm which had been solely created for passing on wrong Input Tax Credit by issuing bogus bills. Narayan Swamy was arrested under the CGST Act 2017, the statement said.
The entire operation was carried out under the directions of B.B. Mohapatra, Principal Commssioner, CGST, Raipur.
Preliminary enquiry shows there is a racket of dealers dealing with fake Input Tax Credit bills spread across many states. Many manufacturers are availing such fake Input Tax Credit to avoid paying GST.
The statement said that in the last three months, the CGST Department has come heavily on the tax evaders issuing fake invoices.