Second accused held in massive GST invoice fraud case

In a significant development following the arrest on July 8, in connection with a multi-crore GST invoice fraud, the Anti-Evasion Wing of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Ludhiana Commissionerate apprehended another key accused on July 11.

The individual is alleged to be the controller and operator of two fake firms and played a pivotal role in issuing bogus GST invoices and facilitating fraudulent refunds, resulting in substantial losses to the exchequer.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate was operating multiple shell companies, collectively issuing fake GST invoices involving a taxable value of Rs 1,786 crore. The network allegedly passed on fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth approximately Rs 180 crore without the actual supply of goods or services. These credits were then used to claim GST refunds under the inverted duty structure.

One firm within the network had reportedly availed a GST refund of Rs 8.74 crore by claiming ITC from non-existent suppliers. The operator of this firm was arrested earlier on July 8.

With two arrests made so far, investigations are underway to unearth the full scale of the fraud and identify additional entities involved in the nexus.