Business Bureau
The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Intelligence (DGGI), Nagpur Zonal Unit has detected and booked 285 fake GST invoice cases since July 2027 to February 2023. The information was given by DGGI, Nagpur Zonal Unit regarding a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by Abhay Kolarkar, RTI activist. The information was sought under RTI application dated March 17, 2023 in respect of DGGI, Nagpur Zonal Unit and its regional units at Aurangabad and Nashik.
DGGI, Nagpur Zonal Unit in its reply mentioned that the amount involved was approximately Rs 1,400 crore and the amount recovered was just Rs 62 crore. Furthermore, the total number of show cause notices (SCN) issued were 187 cases involving an amount of approximately Rs 1,354 crore. Accordingly the total number of cases which were decided were 231. As per the data, the number of prosecutions launched were 3, while the number of persons arrested were 39. However, the number of persons in jail and number of FIRs were filed as nil, the data showed.
Commenting on the RTI data, Sanjay Thul, President of All India Federation of Customs, Central Excise and GST SC/ST Employees Welfare Organisation said, “The issuing of fake GST invoices is as good as printing fake currency. The fraudsters use fake Aadhar cards, PAN cards and Ids. This is a criminal offence and the department should be allowed to file an FIR with Police to punish the tax evaders. Such cases should also be referred to the Income Tax department to control the tax evasion.”