2 G’gram firms under lens for ‘bogus’ VAT transactions

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 19

The Haryana Government has booked two Gurugram-based private firms in connection with bogus VAT transactions and also constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter.

A government spokesman said the firms are Vipin Enterprises, and Uma Traders. He said Vipin Enterprises was found claiming input tax credit (ITC) of VAT to the tune of more than Rs 41.78 crore and central excise to the tune of more than Rs 7.37 crore, totaling to more than Rs 49.16 crore.

Uma Traders was found claiming ITC to the tune of more than Rs 42.38 crore and central excise to the tune of more than Rs 8.05 crore, totaling to over Rs 50.43 crore.

The spokesman said Vipin Enterprises allegedly made fraudulent claims of ITC on intra-state purchases in a web of operations with many other firms. He said the enterprise was not traceable at the given address and proprietor of the firm, Vijay, could not be traced. An effort was made to contact the proprietor at the given mobile number, but on True Caller mobile app, the phone number of Vodafone Telecom Operator is shown to belong to Delhi resident Rakesh Arora.

The person responding from the other side disclosed his name as Hemraj and expressed ignorance about either Rakesh or Vijay.

Uma Traders was registered under the VAT Act with liability to pay tax with effect from September 25, 2014. It had declared a turnover of more than Rs 3.03 crore, nil and more than Rs 43.92 crore for the first three quarters for 2015-16.

No return for 2016-17 and first quarter of 2017-18 had been filed. The dealer neither paid any tax in all three quarters nor did he pay tax on value enhancement, that is VAT.