NEW DELHI: Three officials of the Delhi government’s Department of Trade and Taxes and two private individuals have been arrested over an alleged GST refund fraud involving wrongful refunds of around `5.50 crore, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) said on Tuesday.
The accused have been identified as GST Officer Ajit Singh, GST Inspector Atal Bhardwaj, Lower Division Clerk Himanshu Malik, and private individuals Ajay Kumar and Ashish Mishra.
According to the ACB, the case was registered following a complaint from the Department of Trade and Taxes over alleged irregularities in processing and sanctioning GST refund claims.
The investigation found that mandatory verification and financial scrutiny were bypassed, while fabricated documents and fake photographs were allegedly used to secure refunds within an unusually short period, causing a loss of around `5.5 crore to the government exchequer.
The ACB alleged that the GST officer approved the claims without mandatory scrutiny.