BHOPAL: GST fraud worth Rs 1,600 crore were reported from Madhya Pradesh during the pandemic year — 2020-21. During the same year, Rs 630.94 were also recovered.
Ever since the law came into force, four years ago, fraud worth over Rs3,400 crore has been detected in Madhya Pradesh and Rs 2,317 crore has been recovered from fraudster. The information surfaced in a reply to an RTI query filed by Neemuch activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur.
Gaur had asked the directorate general of GST about the number of GST fraud cases detected, amount involved and the recovery against these incidents. Replying to the query, zonal unit of directorate of GST intelligence, Bhopal informed that in year 2017-18, 6 cases were detected and an amount of Rs17.48 crore GST evasion was involved of these Rs11.96 crore were recovered till date. In 2018-19, 56 cases of tax evasion were detected amounting to Rs576.81 crore of which Rs568 crore were recovered till date and likewise in 2019-20, 89 cases of GST fraud were detected and tax evasion of Rs1,203 crore was involved.
Of these Rs1,106 crore were recovered. In 2020-21, 163 cases were of GST evasion involving Rs1,600 crore were detected of which Rs630 crore have been recovered till date.
An official said, “In Madhya Pradesh majority of the GST fraud cases are related to claiming ineligible credits, i.e., claiming credits for the tax paid that is not eligible for the credit, the second type of GST fraud is related to services, i.e., services are offered as per contract, mainly to government, but GST is not paid. There are also cases of claiming tax credits against fake invoices but these are few in number. There is also clandestine trade, i.e., doing business clandestinely without paying GST.”
