GST Fraud: Rs 25,000 Cr Tax Evasion Unearthed As IT Dept Busts 18,000 Bogus Companies

GST Fraud: Tax authorities have identified around 18,000 fake companies registered under GST which have been involved in tax evasion of about Rs 25,000 crore, an official said.

Nationwide Drive Against Fake Registrations

In the recently concluded all-India drive against fake companies, GST officers had identified 73,000 companies that they suspected of being set up only to avail of input tax credit (ITC) without any actual sale of goods and thereby defraud the exchequer.

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Outcomes of the Second All-India Drive

“We had identified around 73,000 GSTINs for verification in the second all-India drive against fake registrations. Of this, around 18,000 were found to be non-existent. They were involved in tax evasion of about Rs 24,550 crore," the official told news agency PTI.

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Voluntary GST Payments

Voluntary GST payments of about Rs 70 crore were made by companies during the special drive.

Government’s Ongoing Efforts

The government has been taking targeted action to check fake GST registration and more physical verification is taking place. The second all-India drive against fake registration began on August 16 and continued till October end.

(With Agency Inputs)