GST officials arrest Surat couple for tax evasion of 450 crores

The Maharashtra GST department has arrested a couple from Surat in neighbouring Gujarat for tax evasion and an input tax credit (ITC) fraud of over INR 450 crore, an official said on Friday. The couple had floated various bogus firms in the name of unrelated persons and accepted bogus invoices of approximately INR 482 crore and availed fake ITC of approximately INR 111 crore, the official said.

Prima Mhatre and Sanjeev Singh, proprietors of M/s Dolphin Overseas and Prime Overseas respectively, were arrested by the GST department in a joint operation with the Mumbai police on Thursday, he said.

The couple was evading the state GST officials and their summons since the last six months, the official said. With the help of the Mumbai police and their counterparts in Surat, the couple was arrested from their luxurious flat in a well-planned operation that lasted for over two days, it was stated.

The investigation wing of the state GST department had started conducting a probe into the two firms in August 2021. However, the couple evaded the proceedings on medical grounds, the official said.

The GST Department continued its search operations at various places and uncovered a collective tax evasion of approximately INR 111 crore, he said. The accused were brought to Mumbai on Friday and produced before a magistrate, who remanded them in judicial custody for 14 days, the official added.

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