Bhubaneswar: The state GST enforcement wing Monday nabbed Smruti Ranjan Sahoo, proprietor of M/s SR Enterprises for his involvement in availing and passing of bogus input tax credit (ITC) worth Rs 19.04 crore on the strength of fake invoices to the tune of Rs106 crore.
According to the officials, Smruti Ranjan Sahoo, the mastermind, availed bogus input tax credit (ITC) raising fake purchase invoices in the name of 14 fake business entities at Angul, Jajpur, Rourkela, Jagatsinghpur, Bhubaneswar and Paradip. He was also found to have passed bogus input tax credit (ITC) on the strength of fake invoices to the recipients of both inside and outside Odisha against the sale of goods purchased fictitiously defrauding the state exchequer. The GST fake invoices worth Rs 106 crore have been arranged/issued within a very short span of time.
Investigation revealed that Sahoo has submitted false information regarding the locations of declared places of businesses and forged the rent agreement. His firm M/s SR Enterprises neither physically exists nor does any business. Purchase and sale transactions shown are all paper transactions. In order to regularise the paper transaction, Sahoo has routed the amount of purchase and sale through his bank account.
During interrogations, the mastermind admitted to have colluded in creation of the dummy firms for issue of fake invoices and passing of bogus ITC through them.
The offences committed are cognizable and non-bailable offences u/s 132 (1) (b) (c) & (l) of OGST Act, 2017 read with section 132(5) of the said Act and is punishable U/s 132(1)(i) of the OGST Act, 2017.
The state GST enforcement wing has so far arrested 18 fraudsters for their involvement in issuance of fake invoices. Registration of 19,539 dealers have been cancelled in 2019-20 and 2020-21 fiscal years so far by the state GST officers on the ground of their non-existence after field inquiry or due to non-filing of returns.
