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The Thane Central Board Of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CGST) and Central Excise (CX) Commissionerate, part of the Mumbai CGST & CX Zone, has dismantled a fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) operation involving 19 fake entities which involved the illegal passing of Rs 34.74 crore in fraudulent ITC, has led to the arrest of the mastermind and his two accomplices.
During a series of follow-up searches, the authorities uncovered incriminating evidence including fake invoices, chequebooks, laptops, and pen drives containing details of the bogus firms. The operation was carried out meticulously, resulting in the seizure of critical documents that further exposed the extent of the fraudulent activities. The investigation revealed that the mastermind, Bhavesh Kachiyapatel, along with his accomplices Dilip Bhatt and Hardik Shah, orchestrated the scheme by recruiting individuals through monetary inducements. These individuals were lured into providing their identification documents, such as AADHAR cards, PAN cards, and other KYC documents. These documents were then misused to register GST accounts in the names of these individuals, falsely designating them as Proprietors or Directors of the fake firms. Bank accounts were also opened in the names of these fictitious companies to further the fraudulent activities. The trio floated 19 fake firms, allowing them to fraudulently avail ITC worth approximately Rs 40.66 crore. Out of this, Rs 34.74 crore was illegally passed on to other entities, causing significant revenue loss to the exchequer. In an action following their arrest, all three individuals were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) in Thane. The magistrate has remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days, until September 13. The authorities have indicated that further investigations are ongoing, and additional revelations are expected as the case unfolds. (ANI)
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