Five officials held in GST refund fraud case

The five arrested officials have been identified as Peetala Swarna Kumar, a Deputy Commissioner, GST in Nalgonda division, Kelam Venu Gopal, an Assistant Commissioner (State Taxes) in Abids Circle, Podila Viswa Kiran, an Assistant Commissioner (State Taxes) in Madhapur-1 Circle, Vemavarapu Venkata Ramana, a Deputy State Tax Officer, GST in Madhapur-II Circle and Marri Mahitha, a Senior Assistant in Madhapur-III Circle.

Explaining the modus operandi, police said the accused started bogus electric bike manufacturing units with various firm’s names by collecting electricity bills from the premises owners in Hyderabad. They later registered the firms in the GST portal by submitting fabricated rental agreements.

Further, the accused conspired with their tax consultant Chiraag Sharma and created fabricated invoices, e-way bills, part-A, part-B and inward supply bills on the name of bogus firms, showing non-existent company as existing and filed GST refunds by offering bribes to the State Government GST officials and claimed refunds.

During the process, the accused claimed refund and gained wrongfully and caused the wrongful loss to the government exchequer, without manufacturing of e-Bikes. Being government servants, the above-mentioned GST officials criminally conspired with other accused, accepted bribes, misappropriated the public funds by using their official power deliberately, disobeying rules and procedures laid down in their department.

The police earlier arrested Chiraag Sharma, a tax consultant of New Delhi, Vemireddy Raja Ramesh Reddy and Mummagari Giridhar Reddy alias Giri, both natives of of Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh and Kondragunta Vineel Chowdary of Palnadu district in Andhra Pradesh.

With the arrest of five GST officials, the total number of persons caught in the case has gone up to nine.