ACB submits chargesheet in Rs 175 crore GST refund scam
MUMBAI: Despite the maximum period of 60 days for verification of claim documents for granting refunds, refunds were granted within a deliberately short period of five to fifteen days without following due process of claim documents and verification. The addresses of most of these 16 fictitious companies, which claimed the refunds, just existed on paper.
On paper, they did not conduct any business. Over this, Amit Lalge, the state sales tax inspector who appeared to be the key accused in the racket, did not visit any of these firms, yet he cleared the refund claim within 5 days, though it should have been cleared in 60 days without following due process of verification, states the 11,900-page chargesheet filed by the State Anti-Corruption Bureau probing the Goods and Service Tax (GST) refund scam amounting to Rs 175 crores.
The ACB on Tuesday submitted the voluminous chargesheet before the special ACB court against four persons - Kiran Bhanusali, a customs clearing agent, Sales tax inspector Amit Lalge, businessman Farooq Shaikh, and Farooq Contractor and Anil Runthala under the BNS sections of cheating, forgery, criminal breach of trust, prevention of corruption act, and 109 of abetment.
