The Goods and Services Tax (GST) officials have apprehended three individuals for their involvement in a massive scheme to sell steel waste through bogus bills totaling Rs392.83 crore. The arrested suspects—Arvind Patel of Nilkanth Alloys, Krupesh Patel of Capeco Alloy Limited, and Jashmin Patel, a partner in Pramukh Industries—were charged under section 132(1)(c) of the GST Act for fake input tax credit.
During the GST raid, investigators uncovered that the trio engaged in fraudulent activities by obtaining and utilizing bogus bills. The Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court has since ordered the remand of Arvind and Jashmin, while Krupesh, who was arrested on June 27, remains in custody until July 3.
Reports indicate that certain GST officials may have colluded with the suspects, creating entities to generate false bills. These officials allegedly registered businesses in the names of unsuspecting individuals, often from disadvantaged backgrounds. They would initiate a sluggish pre-registration inspection process, obtain registration numbers, and subsequently generate substantial fake billing over several months to secure input tax credits. This operation would eventually slow down, leading to the closure of these bogus companies.
Interestingly, if unusual billing patterns are detected in a GST-registered business’s account, a red flag is raised on the GST website. Despite these alerts, the implicated officials reportedly ignored the signs, enabling the fraudulent activities to continue unchecked.