New Delhi: More than Rs 150 crore was allegedly recovered from the residence of a Kanpur-based businessman, Piyush Jain, in a raid Friday, in what has been described as the biggest recovery in the history of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).
Jain is the owner of a perfume company that is the parent organisation also involved in manufacturing Shikhar Pan Masala and tobacco-based products.
According to Vikas Prasad, Additional Director, GST Intelligence unit, the search operations in Kanpur were first initiated by the Ahmedabad unit on 22 December, after they received “specific intelligence inputs”.
The information with the unit indicated “clandestine supply of goods by the manufacturer without payment of applicable tax”, Prasad said in a statement.
The initial search covered the factory premises of M/s Trimurti Fragrance Pvt Ltd, Kanpur, (owned by Jain), and the office and godowns of M/s Ganpati Road Carriers — involved in transportation of goods for Trimurti.
Based on fake invoices recovered from the office of the transportation company, other properties linked to Jain, including his residence, were raided Friday, leading to the recovery of more than Rs 150 crore, Prasad added.
Photographs from the raid, which have since gone viral, show cash wrapped in white covers, stacked into two large wooden wardrobes at the Jain residence.
#WATCH | As per Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs chairman Vivek Johri, about Rs 150 crores have been seized in the raid, counting still underway.
Visuals from businessman Piyush Jain's residence in Kanpur. pic.twitter.com/u7aBTJhGxW
— ANI (@ANI) December 24, 2021
“The process of counting cash has been initiated with the help of officials of State Bank of India, Kanpur, which may continue till 24 December evening. The total amount of cash is expected to be in excess of Rs 150 crore,” Prasad said.
“The agency proposes to seize the cash under the provisions of section 67 of CGST act, pending further investigations,” he added.
Of the Rs 150 crore seized, an amount of Rs 3.09 crore has been recovered so far towards tax dues, Prasad said.
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‘Multiple invoices generated in the name of non-existent firms’
According to Prasad, Ganpati Road Carriers used to generate multiple invoices in the name of non-existent firms, all for below Rs 50,000 for one full truckload of goods manufactured by Trimurti, to avoid generation of e-way bills while moving the goods.
An e-way bill is a unique number assigned to a consignment for allowing smooth movement of goods from one state to another. The bill is generated before transporting or shipping goods worth more than Rs 50,000.
The goods would then be transported to the original buyers and it is alleged that the transporter was collecting the actual sale proceeds of such supplies in cash and then handing it over to the manufacturer, Trimurti, after deducting its commission.
According to Prasad, the officers were initially able to successfully intercept and seize four such trucks outside the factory premises, which had been cleared from the factory without invoices and e-way bills, which he said confirmed the intelligence inputs.
“In the factory premises, during physical stock-taking, shortage of raw materials and finished products was noticed, as the finished products had been cleared clandestinely. The authorised signatory of the company has admitted to have cleared the goods without GST,” Prasad said.
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Over 200 fake invoices
On the premises of Ganpati Road Carriers, more than 200 fake invoices used in the past for transportation of goods without payment of GST have been recovered, said a statement issued by the Director General of GST Intelligence, Ahmedabad zonal unit, Friday.
“The transporter has also admitted that goods were being transported without e-way bills, under the cover of fake invoices and also the sale proceeds were being collected in cash, to be handed over to the manufacturer,” the statement added.
An amount of Rs 1.01 crore in cash has been seized from the possession of the transporter, the statement said.
Based on intelligence inputs, the residential premises of the owners of M/s Odochem Industries, Kannauj, a company supplying perfumery compounds — mostly for cash — to Trimurti were also searched. It was suspected that the sale proceeds in cash were stashed on the premises, the statement said.
(With inputs from Shubham Batra)
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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