NEW DELHI: The Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) has arrested seven people, including a GST officer in the Delhi government and three advocates who were allegedly linked to an alleged GST (Goods & Services Tax) refund scam worth Rs 54 crore.
The accused were identified as Babita Sharma (the GSTO who sanctioned bogus refunds), Raj Singh Saini, Narender Kumar Saini and Mukesh Saini (all advocates and beneficiary of bogus refunds), Manoj Goyal (proprietor of fake firms), Surjeet Singh (transporter who provided fake e-way bills and forged goods receipts in lieu of payments from the beneficiaries) and Lalit Kumar (another transporter).
ACB chief Madhur Verma said that the GST officer was posted at Ward No. 6 till July 2021. “On her transfer to Ward No. 22 in July, 2021, 53 firms applied for migration to Ward No. 22. Their requests were approved quickly by the GSTO,” Verma said.
Suspecting foul play, the vigilance-GST department sent special teams in September, 2021, for a physical verification of these firms. “These firms were found to be non-existent and non-functional during the verification,” the Joint CP said.
Additional Commissioner (trade & taxes) Vivek Aggarwal ordered an inquiry after which it was referred to ACB for a detailed probe. It showed “glaring procedural lapses” aimed to cause loss to the state exchequer.
The probe revealed that input tax credit was taken against fake invoices amounting to Rs 718 crore.