EOW arrests 2 men for committing GST fraud of Rs 10 crore
The Delhi Police Economic Offences Wing has arrested two men for allegedly committing a GST fraud of Rs 10 crore. Police said the accused were planning to cheat the Department of Trade and Taxes (DTT), Delhi of Rs 40 crore by claiming income tax credits, but the department found that the accused were running a bogus company. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence, which comes under the Ministry of Finance, is now conducting an enquiry against at least 25 other firms that are run by the accused.
Police on Sunday said that the accused Shubham Khandelwal (27) and Pulkit Goyal (26) started a firm named Saraswati Enterprises in Delhi three years ago with a fake proprietor. Their main aim was to provide businessmen or buyers with invoices and collect GST from them. They would then claim false income tax credits from the government.
Additional CP (EOW) R K Singh said their department received a complaint from DTT officials, who alleged that the accused had claimed Rs 42 crore of income tax credit.
“Since the amount was high, DTT checked the credentials and found that the firm was registered under a bogus name and address. Also, the bank account provided in the Value Added Tax registration form was fake. The accused had earlier claimed Rs 9.97 crore and received the amount,” said Additional CP Singh.
During the investigation, police found the owners of the company. The firm used to issue invoices of goods to businesses and collect VAT and GST charges from them. However, receipts of the same weren’t deposited to the government.
Police said the accused were in touch with many agents in Delhi markets, who helped them contact businesses that needed invoices/vouchers for transportation or delivery of goods. In addition, the accused cheated the government agency by claiming false input tax credits from them.
The accused were arrested from Delhi and Haryana after several raids. Khandelwal is also involved in a case of fraud in Gurgaon. The two worked for several taxation firms but quit them and started the bogus company.
During interrogation, officials found that the accused run 25 other firms and earn more money by cheating government agencies and businesses. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence is now conducting an enquiry.
