HYDERABAD: Central
GST authorities have detected Rs 2,645 crore tax evasion over the past three years in
Telangana, with infrastructure and steel firms the biggest violators.
The office of the directorgeneral of
GST Intelligence and local GST commissionarates found out that fake invoices were generated through shell firms based in Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Central GST authorities said from July 2017 to August 2020 they have booked 660 cases against erring companies and their directors. Around 38 GST fraudsters have been arrested in Telangana. Telangana comes after Gujarat, Delhi, and Maharashtra in the list of a maximum arrests.
Data analytics to detect GST fraudWhile in Andhra Pradesh, around Rs 3,102 crore
GST evasion had been detected and around 293 cases booked leading to the arrest of four, minister of state for finance Anurag Thakur informed the Lok Sabha on September 19.
Central GST authorities are using data analytics to detect fraud by scouting voluminous GST transactions uploaded online by various companies. “GST evasion is being prevented and reduced by the use of data analytics, checking E-way bills and developing specific intelligence,” Thakur said.
The Centre, however, denied the allegation that tax evasion has increased postimplementation of GST.
“Efforts are being undertaken to curb evasion in GST with the help of inputs from Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM). Further, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and Central GST field formations are initiating various other measures in this regard,” a GST official said.
According to CGST officials, fake invoices are generated by companies in order to avail input tax credit fraudulently as well as to route public money from bigticket government projects to shell firms.
When it comes to firms involved in exports across the entire country, between July 2017 and August 2020, around Rs 2,551 crore GST evasion was detected and Rs 293 crore recovered from them. Overall, around 20,233 cases were booked and evasion of Rs 93,462 crore detected, involving the arrest of 408 persons in the past three years.