The Maharashtra GST department has arrested three businessmen in connection with separate Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud cases amounting to over Rs 180 crore.
Rachna Prabhatkumar Maheshwari, director of Narwhal Chemicals and Fertilizers International Pvt. Ltd., was arrested for allegedly issuing bogus invoices and claiming ITC of Rs 56.57 crore, causing significant revenue loss to the government.
In another case, Vipul Maheshwari, director of Abhay Trading Pvt. Ltd., was taken into custody for his role in a large-scale fake invoice and ITC racket totaling Rs 114.63 crore. Investigations showed that Abhay Trading used non-genuine ITC of Rs 51.13 crore from Pluto Chemicals Ltd., a part of a network issuing invoices without actual goods supply. Vipul Maheshwari allegedly claimed ITC of Rs 58 crore from related parties and transferred fake ITC worth Rs 56.63 crore between July 2017 and March 2023.
In the third case, the Anti-Evasion team of Central GST Palghar arrested Sanjay Sutar and Hitesh Babulal Patel, partners of Esspee Enterprises, for availing ITC of Rs 9.78 crore via invoices from non-genuine suppliers.
These arrests underscore Maharashtra GST authorities’ ongoing crackdown on fraudulent ITC claims and fake invoice operations affecting state revenue.
