Owner of non-existing firm booked for Rs 1 cr tax evasion

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, August 8

The Excise and Taxation Department has exposed the tax evasion of Rs 1.04 crore by identifying a non-existing firm involved in issuing fake invoices with an intention to hoodwink the government through bogus Input Tax Credit without actual receipt and supply of goods.

The police have booked Ramesh Kumar, owner of M/s Hari Traders, for the criminal breach of trust, forgery, cheating and dishonesty on the complaint of Excise and Taxation Officer-cum-Proper Officer of State Tax Shobhini.

“During a survey, we got information from Taxation Inspection Sanjeev Yadav about the non-existence, non-functional and involvement of M/s Hari Traders in issuing fake invoices to evade tax. The probe found the information true as the firm was non-functional at its address in Rohtak. It was also found involved in showing purchases in returns from different GST dealers without actual receipts and supply of goods, besides further issuing fake tax invoices to the dealers,” the complainant said.

Shobhini said Ramesh had obtained registration under the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, by means of fraud, willful misstatement and suppression of facts with the purpose of tax evasion and claimed Input Tax Credit on the purchases made from different GST dealers and issued fake invoices, without the supply of goods to them.

“During financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19, the dealer conducted a sale of Rs 1.48 crore. This fraudulent act of the dealer of claiming and utilisation of fake Input Tax Credit in disposal of output tax liabilities without the actual payment has resulted in loss of a total revenue of Rs 1.04 crore,” she added.

A case under Sections 406, 420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC has been filed against Ramesh.