Rs 293cr GST fraud unearthed in AP

The racket spans multiple states and centered around Kadapa, Kurnool, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

Accused Manohar (34) and others created bogus entries at different levels and across different states to camouflage the fraudulent nature of transactions and used to run a complex network in the generation of fake invoices of Rs 293 crore in taxable value, investigating officials said.

The fraud involved the passing on of fake ITC (input tax credit) to many functional companies/firms to an extent of Rs 30 crore of GST. This enabled them to fraudulently avail and utilise the same so as to evade payment of genuine taxes, thereby causing huge loss to the government exchequer, it was stated.

The arrest of the bill trading mastermind has been duly authorised by principal additional director of DGGI, VZU MRR Reddy. He was produced before the special judge Economic Offences Court, Visakhapatnam on Dec 13. The court remanded accused Manohar to judicial custody for 14 days.

An official statement said, “DGGI has been on constant alert and is continuously battling various modus operandi in tax evasion, particularly in the floating of bogus companies/firms and resultant loss to the public revenue.”

“Fraudsters are engaging in a plethora of techniques to escape the gaze of this agency like creating multiple levels of fake entities in multiple states. They are using the credentials of gullible and poor people by offering certain incentives for sharing sensitive personal data.”

“In the financial year 2024-25, so far, DGGI, Visakhapatnam Zonal unit has collected intelligence and booked around 79 cases involving taxable value of approximately Rs 465 crore and fake ITC/GST of Rs 84 crore,” it added.