In a significant crackdown on tax fraud, the anti-evasion team of Thane Central Excise & CGST Commissionerate Mumbai Zone uncovered a massive fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket worth ₹48 crores. Hitesh Shantilal Vasa, the mastermind behind the scam, was arrested by authorities on Thursday.
Vasa reportedly registered 22 shell companies by misusing KYC documents, such as Aadhaar and PAN cards, belonging to his relatives and other individuals. These shell companies were used to conduct proxy and dummy transactions, enabling him to fraudulently avail of ₹48 crores in ITC benefits. Further investigations revealed that Vasa passed on ₹44 crores in fake ITC to other firms without any actual movement of goods or services.
Officials also discovered that Vasa was involved in circular trading, artificially inflating the turnover of these fictitious companies. He used KYC documents to obtain fraudulent GST registrations, naming unsuspecting individuals as proprietors, partners, or directors, and even opened bank accounts for these entities.
Vasa was arrested under Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017, for violations under Section 132 of the same Act. Following his arrest, he was remanded to 14-day judicial custody after being presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Thane. The authorities are continuing their investigation to identify others involved in the fraud.
This bust highlights the government's ongoing efforts to curb GST evasion and ensure compliance in the face of growing tax fraud across the country.
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