Rs 1,196 Cr GST Fraud Uncovered in Pune: DGGI Arrests One

New Delhi, Feb 12 (PTI) The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Pune Zonal Unit, has uncovered a GST fraud amounting to Rs 1,196 crore and has arrested one individual in connection with the case.

The investigation, involving searches at multiple locations in Pune, Delhi, Noida, and Muzaffarnagar, has revealed a sophisticated network of bogus companies engaged in fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) transactions, FinMin said in a statement on Wednesday.

The accused had set up shell entities with no legitimate business operations, generating fake invoices and e-way bills to create a facade of genuine trade, it said.

However, it said, these e-way bills had no RFID movements associated with them, confirming the absence of actual supply of goods. The fraudulent network facilitated the availing and passing of fake ITC worth Rs 1,196 crore.

The arrested individual, the director of a private limited firm in Muzaffarnagar, is identified as the mastermind behind the operation, it said.

The investigation uncovered that the cartel maintained a database of addresses, identities, email IDs, and phone numbers, which were strategically rotated to obtain new GST registrations and evade detection, it said.

The newly created firms had directors or proprietors selected from this repository, allowing the fraudsters to sustain their illicit activities, it added.