The Excise and Taxation Department of Himachal Pradesh is investigating over 150 agencies registered under fraudulent means, as part of a nationwide crackdown on fake GST registrations. This investigation follows instructions from the Central Government, which launched a special drive to monitor and investigate suspicious GST accounts across the country.
Since the campaign began on August 16, nearly 67,970 suspicious GST accounts have been identified nationwide, with 59% of them verified as of September 22. Himachal Pradesh, which has seen a rise in illegal registrations from agencies outside the state, has been actively involved in this effort.
This isn't the first instance of GST fraud in the state. Last year, a major fraud case involving Rs 10.49 crore uncovered eight fake firms, three from Gujarat, that exploited Himachal’s system using fake Aadhaar details to evade taxes. The current investigation is expected to reveal the extent of the fraudulent activities among the 150 agencies and prevent further GST revenue leakage in the state.
With a renewed two-month campaign running from August 16 to October 15, the Excise and Taxation Department is working to ensure tighter controls on GST registrations, aiming to significantly reduce fraud and safeguard revenue.
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