BENGALURU: A city civil and sessions court refused to grant bail to the accused, Mohammed Kamran, who was allegedly engaged in irregular Input Tax Credit (ITC) to the tune of Rs 21.11 crore on the strength of fake invoices without actual receipt of any goods/services either from non-existing entities or from the entities which are involved in the chain of fake invoices.
ITC is a mechanism that allows businesses to claim the credit for GST paid on their purchases and use it to reduce their GST liability on sales.
Stating that the modus operandi adopted by Kamran (25) is very unique and heavily concealing, and he is a mastermind in the ITC fraud, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) alleged that he has created a syndicate of fake suppliers, and ITC passed on them. The scam is more than Rs. 400 crore, the DGGI told the court in its objections to the bail application.
In its objection to the bail application, the DGGI stated that, during the investigation, 100 summons were issued to various suppliers and parties involved in different levels of the supply chain under examination, and 13 voluntary statements have been recorded. Fourteen electronic devices have been seized, and the extraction of data is in the process of examination.
There are more than 450 transporters who appear in E-way bills generated against the invoices by suppliers who are suspicious. They have been scrutinised.
Also, 20 bank statements have been sought, out of which 10 bank statements have been received. From which it is evident that amounts have been siphoned out to such entities. More than Rs 100 crore has been transferred to beneficiaries ranging from the vegetable seller, fruit vendor, tour operator and many petrol or fuel vendors. The said individual’s money has ranged from Rs 10 lakh to 20 crore. The huge transaction of money has been done through illegal modalities, including money laundering, the DGGI told the court.
Rejecting the bail plea by considering the DGGI’s objections, Judge Rashmi M, the 67th Additional City Civil and Sessions court, said that the economic offence is to be dealt with a stringent approach.
