In a major crackdown, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi Government has uncovered a massive Goods and Service Tax (GST) fraud amounting to Rs54 crore, involving 96 fake companies. The fraud was masterminded by a group of seven individuals, including a GST officer, Babita Sharma, who allegedly helped orchestrate the scam.
Joint Commissioner of Police, ACB, Madhur Verma confirmed that along with Sharma, the group also included three advocates—Raj Singh Saini, Narender Kumar Saini, and Mukesh Soni—two transporters, and the owner of a fictitious company. These individuals are said to have used about 100 fake companies to create fraudulent GST claims.
The accused used these fake companies to generate fraudulent invoices worth a staggering Rs718 crore in an effort to claim GST refunds. The bogus companies were allegedly involved in the import and export of medical goods, though this was simply a cover for their fraudulent activities. Sharma, who worked as a GST officer, is believed to have played a central role in facilitating the fraudulent claims.
Between 2021 and 2022, Sharma approved more than 400 GST refunds amounting toRs35.51 crore without proper verification of the invoices. The beneficiaries of these approvals were the advocates, who allegedly received the refund amounts, while the transporters provided the fraudulent e-way bills and forged goods receipts to support the fake claims.
The scam came to light in September 2021 after Babita Sharma was transferred to Ward 22 of the GST office. The GST Vigilance Department noticed an unusual surge in migration requests from firms within a short period. Over 50 firms applied to migrate from Ward 6 to Ward 22, and their applications were quickly approved, which raised suspicions and prompted an investigation.
Upon further scrutiny, the GST department conducted a physical check of the businesses, only to discover that the firms in question were non-existent. This prompted the ACB to get involved in the investigation. During their probe, it was revealed that Sharma had approved fraudulent refunds without verifying the Input Tax Credit (ITC), a critical tool used to detect such fraudulent claims.
Additional red flags included the identical PAN numbers, email addresses, and mobile numbers shared by multiple firms, along with the absence of Aadhaar authentication for some entities.
