Punjab Excise Dept nabs GST fraudster for Rs 3.65 crore fake tax credit

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 18

In a major breakthrough, the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department in a joint operation with the Fatehgarh Sahib police has apprehended a GST fraudster for Rs 3.65 crore ingenuine input tax credit (ITC) claimed by him.

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said a show-cause notice was served upon suspect Deepak Sharma by the Deputy Commissioner, State Tax, Ludhiana, on January 25, 2023, confronting him on the ingenuine ITC claimed by him, but he neither deposited the tax amount, nor submitted any reply.

Cheema said an order under the relevant section of the Act ibid was passed by the adjudicating authority on June 13, 2023, and a demand of Rs 11.75 crore created, including Rs 4.45 crore interest and Rs 3.65 crore penalty.

He further said an investigation was conducted by the Tax Intelligence Unit (TIU) and sales tax officers and it was found that Deepak had submitted a forged GST registration certificate to a bank. The minister said Deepak’s bank account was frozen and a recovery notice for Rs 26 lakh had been sent to the said bank.

Cheema said a special task force constituted by the State Goods and Services Tax Department (SGST) conducted simultaneous raids along with the Fatehgarh Sahib police at multiple locations linked to the suspect. He said an FIR had been registered and further investigation was under way to determine the total extent of the fraud and recover evaded tax.

Meanwhile, the Finance Commissioner Taxation-cum-Additional Chief Secretary Vikas Partap said the department had been working on a data analytic software to identify those who generate fake ITC and take strict action against them.

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