Probe into GST evasion saves Rs 4,646 cr in fraudulent claims

New Delhi, January 7

GST formations, under the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and the state or UT governments, have been carrying out a drive across the country to curb bogus registrations and fake invoices.

The drive to curb frauds in Goods and Services Tax (GST) and increase compliance since mid-May 2023 has led to snaring of 29,273 allegedly bogus firms that were involved in suspected Input Tax Credit (ITC) evasion of Rs 44,015 crore.

This has saved Rs 4,646 crore, of which Rs 3,802 crore is by blocking ITC and Rs 844 crore by way of recovery. So far, 121 arrests have been made in the cases, stated an official news release.

In the quarter ending December 2023, as many as 4,153 bogus firms involving suspected ITC evasion of around Rs 12,036 crore were detected. As many as 2,358 of these were detected by the Central Goods and Services Tax authorities. This has protected revenue of Rs 1,317 crore, of which Rs 319 crore has been realised and Rs 997 crore has been protected by blocking ITC. Fortyone persons were arrested in these cases, 31 of them by Central GST authorities.

The government has also taken several measures to strengthen the GST registration process. Pilot projects of biometric-based Aadhaar authentication at the time of registration have been launched in Gujarat, Puducherry and Andhra Pradesh.

Besides, the government has tried to curtail evasion of tax through measures such as sequential filing of GST returns, system-generated intimation for reconciliation of the gap in tax liability in GSTR-1 & GSTR-3B returns and of the gap between ITC available as per GSTR-2B & ITC availed in GSTR-3B returns, use of data analytics and risk parameters for detection of fake Input Tax Credit, etc.