Rs 2,000 crore fake GST invoices scam busted

According to a statement from M Sreedhar Reddy, Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Chennai North, said that the officers of headquarters preventive unit, Chennai North GST and Central Excise Commissionerate had gathered intelligence and effected the arrest as the accused, Sujaram alias Suresh Dewasi of Sevan Wells, was found issuing fake GST invoices without supply of goods. 

After the team came to know that he was hiding in Siwana Tehsil of Barmer district in Rajasthan, a team from Chennai, headed by G A Harshanand, Assistant Commissioner (Preventive), headed there. 

Sujaram was arrested on Saturday under Section of 69 of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and produced before metropolitan magistrate court in Jodhpur, and was permitted with a transit remand to Chennai. 

Sujram admitted that he had issued fake GST invoices without supply of goods involving value of Rs 2,000 crore, involving a GST evasion of Rs 265 crore, said the statement, adding that he had received commission for issuing such fake invoices. The accused was produced before magistrate of Economic Offence cases in Chennai and remanded to judicial custody for 15 days.   

During the last one year, the GST Directorate has found out that business firms had been claiming hundreds of crores through input tax credit by submitting fake invoices. 

Under the input credit system, one can reduce the tax that has already been paid on inputs at the time of paying tax on output. For example, if a manufacturer has to pay a final tax of Rs 450 and tax paid on input is Rs 300, then he can claim input credit of Rs 300 and he has to pay only Rs 150 as tax.