A significant GST fraud, potentially worth over Rs 100 crore, has been uncovered in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. The scam involved using the personal documents of daily wage earners and petty shoppers to register shell companies and make fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims. The operation came to light after a former wine shop worker reported his identity documents being misused by his former employer to register companies in his name, leading to him receiving substantial GST demand notices.
A massiveGST fraud, allegedly originating from Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, has come under intense scrutiny after preliminary investigations revealed the systematic misuse of identity documents belonging to petty shoppers and daily-wage earners to generate fake ITC claims exceeding Rs 100 crore.
Officials investigating the case believe that the actual value of inter-State transactions linked to the racket could be nearly ten times higher, pointing to one of the largest organised GST fra
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FAQ :
Preliminary investigations suggest the fraud involves fake ITC claims exceeding Rs 100 crore. Officials believe the actual value of inter-State transactions linked to the racket could be nearly ten times higher.
The scam surfaced when G. Vijaya Chakravarthi, a former wine shop worker, complained to the Superintendent of Police that his Aadhaar, PAN, and other personal documents were misused by his former employer to register shell companies in his name.
The fraud primarily targeted economically vulnerable individuals, including daily wage earners and petty shoppers, whose identities were used to register shell companies without their knowledge.
The network collected Aadhaar cards, PAN details, and photographs from individuals, often for small payments. They then used fake mobile numbers and email IDs for GST registration, opened bank accounts in the victims' names, and generated bogus invoices to claim ITC.
While Chittoor served as the primary hub for identity collection and company registration, the fraud network spanned Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka, with invoices generated using Hyderabad-based entities and financial transactions routed through Bengaluru-linked accounts.
A multi-departmental probe involving State and Central GST authorities is underway. Special teams are examining bank statements, call records, IP address logs, and DigiLocker access trails.