GST scam: 11 bogus firms identified

Mukesh Tandon
Tribune News Service
Panipat, June 21

The state Excise and Taxation Department has identified 11 non-existing firms in the city which were found involved in bogus billing to the tune of Rs102 crore with tax evasion of Rs14.37 crore.

During physical verification by the officials, none of these firms was found existing on the registered address. These had been registered on the basis of fake documents.

The officers then calculated the firms’ transactions and billings and they found that the firms had issued bogus bills of Rs 102 crore across the state and other states also.

As per sources, the total tax evasion was found to be Rs14.37 crore of which Rs2.9 crore is from Panipat district, Rs4.25 crore from other districts in the state. As much as Rs7.2 crore tax evasion was found to be from other states.

Vidya Sagar, Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Enforcement), said that department is dealing strictly with those involved in the bogus billing scam and registering their firms on GST portal on the basis of fake documents.

All officers have been directed to keep a sharp eye on bogus firms, to register cases against them and to recover the evaded tax, he added.

Raja Ram Nain, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner (DETC) and Deputy Commissioner State Tax (SGST), said that the details of the 11 non-existing firms have been sent to the Police Department for registration of cases against their owners.

Notices would be issued to those firms which used the bogus bills of these non-existing firms for tax evasion, he added.

Rs 7-cr tax evaded by spinning mills recovered 

The Excise and Taxation Department has recovered Rs 7 crore after attaching the bank accounts of eight spinning mills, which had allegedly evaded tax by using bogus bills. The department has recovered Rs 13.02-crore tax out of total Rs 13.65-crore tax evaded by spinning mills. The department had identified 25 fake firms and registered cases against them in January and March. During investigation, officers found that Rs 13.65-core tax was evaded by firms in Panipat by using bogus bills issued by these non-existing firms.