Govt Cracks Down On Fake GST Invoice Rackets: 6,600 Bogus Entities Identified, Rs 700 Crore Recovered, 215 Arrested

Government's crackdown on the fake invoice rackets evading goods and services tax (GST) has gathered further momentum with the arrest of 215 people and detection of more than 6600 bogus entities since mid-November, reports Livemint.

Those arrested so far include managing directors of some companies. The arrested persons also include operators of bogus entities issuing fake invoices on a commission basis, and the end beneficiaries who use such invoices. These include 81 proprietors, 36 directors or managing directors, 15 partners, three chief executive officers, six chartered accountants, a company secretary, a broker and a GST practitioner.

So far, the GST authorities have registered around 2,200 cases and recovered more than Rs 700 crore from the people involved. In many cases, fake invoices were made about transactions in garments, copper waste scrap, medicines, ferrous waste and scrap, cement and coal.

The developments come as authorities are increasingly using data analytics and artificial intelligence to identify such cases. Furthermore, GST authorities are also passing on the details of fake invoice cases to income tax officials for investigating if there also exists a case of income tax evasion.