DINDIGUL: The Permanent Account Number (PAN) details of a 26-year-old woman from Thanjavur district were allegedly misused to register a fraudulent company in Dindigul, which had been engaged in transporting scrap iron. The identity theft came to light after the Commercial Taxes Department (Dindigul) sent a GST notice to U Suganya (26) -- wife of a daily-wage labourer residing on Thoppu Street, Saliyamangalam village, Thanjavur district -- imposing on her a penalty of Rs 60.41 lakh, pertaining to the alleged transportation of goods from Dindigul city to Andhra Pradesh.
According to sources, Suganya, on October 7, received the notice for the transportation of goods valued at Rs 1.67 crore from a company named LG Traders, located in Balakrishnapuram, Dindigul city. Taken aback, the woman consulted with auditors in Thanjavur and discovered that her PAN and Aadhaar details were allegedly misused to establish a fraudulent company in her name. Subsequently, she submitted a petition to the officials concerned at the Commercial Taxes Department (Dindigul), seeking investigation and assistance.
A senior official from the department told the TNIE that the company was established in the first week of April. The official said, “The organisation engaged in transporting scrap iron during the second week of April, but the recipient information was found to be fabricated. The Commercial Taxes Department of Andhra Pradesh alerted us to verify the origin of the goods, which were traced back to the company. There was no response after we issued a notice, and a physical inspection revealed that no such company existed at the specified address. By the first week of May, the company’s GST licence was suspended and subsequently revoked.”
The official said the investigations concluded that the fake company used invoices to transport goods and declared a GST liability of Rs 30 lakh, but the same Rs 3 lakh was adjusted as sales under a firm in Andhra Pradesh. “This is unacceptable. After an assessment, a GST liability and a penalty, totalling Rs 60.41 lakh, were calculated, and a notice was sent to the owner’s registered address, linking the matter to a woman, who is now claiming that her PAN details were misused. The woman has been advised to file a complaint with the police department,” added the official.
