Thane/Palghar, Oct 11 (PTI) A businessman was arrested for allegedly floating 70 fake firms that issued bogus invoices amounting to Rs 320 crore as part of an extensive Goods and Services Tax fraud, an official said here on Friday.
Ashok Harilal Oza was held on October 10 and has been remanded in 13-day judicial custody, the CGST Mumbai Zone official added.
“He generated Rs 320 crore worth of fake invoices through 70 bogus firms without actual supply of goods or services. He availed Input Tax Credit of Rs 22 crore and passed on ITC of Rs 26 crore fraudulently,” the official said.
The action was taken as part of the department’s ‘Second Special All India Drive Against Fake Registrations’, he said.
“Another case involving one man identified as Hitesh Vasa was also uncovered. He registered 22 non-bonafide firms and availed ITC of Rs 48 crores. He passed on ITC of Rs 44 crore fraudulently. In both cases, 92 firms have been detected that were involved in generating fake invoices to pass on ITC fraudulently,” said Additional Commissioner, CGST (Mumbai Zone) Dipin Singla.
In all, fake invoices worth Rs 760 crore and ITC of Rs 140 crore were detected during the drive, the official added.
The action against Oza was taken by the Palghar unit of CGST, while Vasa was held due to the probe by its Thane unit, officials said.
Input Tax Credit is tax paid by a business on purchase and which it can use to reduce its tax liability when it makes a sale. It is a mechanism to safeguard against double taxation under the GST regime. PTI COR BNM
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