By Our Correspondent
RAIPUR/NEW DELHI: Income Tax Department conducted a search on a group of individuals, hawala dealers and businessmen in Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The raids were primarily on coal mining, sponge iron business and industrial establishments, sources said on Monday. Sources said , one Jain Metals under scanner and few others under scanner.
The search action was mounted on the basis of credible inputs, intelligence and evidence of generation of huge unaccounted cash from liquor and mining business and transfer of the same to public servants, huge cash deposits during demonetization period, accommodation entries from shell companies, undisclosed investment in properties etc. Subsequently, based on evidences found during search, a few other premises were also covered in consequential actions.
Incriminating documents and electronic data seized during the search show that substantial amount of illegal gratification was being paid to public servants and others every month. Further, daily details of unaccounted sales, bank accounts opened in the names of employees having transactions worth crores and an unaccounted bank account have been found.
Details of benami vehicles, hawala transfers, transfer to Kolkata-based companies and creation of shell companies with huge land bank have also been found and seized. Search has also resulted in seizure of substantial amount of cash.
The total unaccounted transactions unearthed till date are over Rs. 150 crore and the figure is likely to substantially increase after the seized evidences and leads found during the search are further scrutinized and investigated. The search action and investigations are continuing and a number of Prohibitory Orders have been placed, including on several bank lockers.
Meanwhile, officers of Anti-Evasion, Central GST Delhi East Commissionerate have unravelled a major operation of Circular Trading, involving use of fake invoices to claim fraudulent refunds of Input Tax Credit. Asif Khan, Rajeev Chhatwal and Arjun Sharma, operating a total of 17 fake firms, procured invoices without actual supply of goods and availed as well as passed on ITC fraudulently, to the tune of Rs 436 crores.
The fraudulently availed ITC was used by them to file refund claims to the tune of Rs. 11.55 crores under Inverted Duty Structure. The said refund claims were also filed by fake firms floated by the accused persons.
The accused persons are related to each other by marriage and were evading investigation for the last one month. During investigation it came to light that a major Hawala operation was being run by the accused persons in connivance with certain Bank employees (under investigation). The said 17 firms, as stated above, existed only on paper and had been floated for the express purpose of passing on ITC by generation of fake invoices. Companies on both sides of the transactions, recipient as well as supplier, were found to be non-existent.
Certain businessmen are also under investigation for taking entries from the accused persons for the purpose of money laundering. It was further learnt that Shri Asif Khan was running a similar operation even during erstwhile VAT regime. It came to light that the trio were planning to spread their operations to other States at the time they were apprehended.
Asif Khan, Rajeev Chhatwal and Arjun Sharma appear to have knowingly committed offences under Section 132(1)(b) and 132(1)(c) of CGST Act, 2017 which are cognizable and non-bailable offences as per the provisions of Section 132(5) and punishable under Clause (i) of Sub section (1) of Section 132 of the Act ibid. They also appear to have committed offence under Section 132(1)(e) of the Act.
Accordingly, the said persons were arrested on 01.03.2020 under Section 69(1) of the CGST Act, 2017 and remanded to judicial custody till 13.03.2020 by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Patiala House Court.Further investigation in the matter is under progress.
