Delhi Police’s Cyber Crime Unit (CyPAD) has busted a huge GST refund scam of Rs 940 crore and arrested 6 persons.
According to a media report, a total of 340 bogus companies, which are allegedly involved in fake business transactions, have been kept under the scanner.
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The report quoted a police official as saying that for generating GST number, the fraudsters used fake or stolen PAN and Aadhaar cards.
The fraudsters, who allegedly registered fake firms on GST portal, procured multiple SIM cards producing fake documents.
The details of the bogus companies were sold to business entities or individuals who used those documents to show fake sale and purchase transactions through bogus GST returns for evading tax and transferring the tax liability or claiming refunds.
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The report quoted Anyesh Roy, DCP (Cyber Crime) as saying that after registration, a fake firm gets a GST number.
After receiving the GST number, bogus business transactions are conducted with another fake firm.
“This way, the transaction steps are repeated up to 4 layers for the purpose of avoiding suspicion of GST department because the business transactions of previous 2-3 levels are checked by the department before sanctioning the GST refunds,” Roy said.
On the basis of forged IDs including PAN numbers, the fraudsters have also opened bank accounts.
Using these firms, fake sale and purchase transactions are shown from one another by filing bogus GST returns and claiming difference in GST as refund, the official said.
The 6 arrested persons worked as data entry operators in VAT and GST department on contract basis, the official said.
They were well conversant with the vulnerabilities of the taxation system and the ways to take advantage of the existing GST slabs to claim fake refund, he added.
The police officer further said “During the probe, 340 companies suspected to be involved in fake reimbursement of GST have so far been identified,” the police officer further said.