The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Saturday filed a prosecution complaint before a special PMLA court in Ranchi against four key accused in the massive Rs 734 crore GST ITC fraud. The accused Shiva Kumar Deora, Mohit Deora, Amit Kumar Gupta and Amit Agrawal are currently in judicial custody following their arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on May 8, 2025.
The ED initiated the probe based on multiple complaints lodged by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Jamshedpur, which had first uncovered the large-scale ITC scam. The complaints pointed to the generation and circulation of fake input tax credits through bogus companies.
According to the ED, Shiva Deora and his associates had floated around 135 shell companies on paper, which were then used to issue fake invoices worth approximately Rs 5,000 crore. These invoices had no backing of actual supply of goods or services. The fabricated transactions enabled the syndicate to fraudulently generate input tax credit valued at Rs 734 crore, which was then sold to various businesses across the country for a commission-helping them illegally offset their GST liabilities.
As part of the investigation, the ED has already identified and attached immovable properties worth Rs 5.29 crore, seized Rs 8.98 crore in cash and frozen bank accounts holding Rs 62.90 lakh. Search operations were also carried out across multiple locations in Jharkhand and West Bengal, which helped uncover incriminating documents and digital evidence linked to the alleged fraud.
The agency has said it will continue to follow the money trail and identify other beneficiaries of the fake ITC. Officials added that the proceeds of crime are likely to be much higher as more shell entities and transactions come under scrutiny.
The case highlights the growing menace of GST ITC fraud and underscores the need for tighter controls and verification mechanisms in the GST ecosystem.
CAclubindia
