• Notification Date: 12-02-2022
• Notification No: N/A

Surat Couple arrested by Maharashtra GST Officials for Rs.111 Crores of Tax Evasion

The officials of the Maharashtra GST department has arrested a couple in Surat who have been accused of tax evasion worth Rs.111 crores through the transaction of fake Input Tax Credit (ITC). The couple had been running fake companies under the name of some fictitious unrelated persons. Some of the bogus companies established by the couple are Dolphin Overseas and Prime Overseas. The accused couple has been accepting fake invoices over the months that are worth Rs.482 crore. They have been availing fake ITC benefits of approximately Rs.111 crore. The couple has been involved in these fraudulent activities for several months.

The accused, namely, Prima Mhatre and Sanjeev Singh, are the proprietors of these overseas firms. They have been arrested by the Maharashtra GST officials on Thursday. The arrest was made in a joint operation with Mumbai police.

The couple had been practising these fraudulent activities of tax evasion and availing fake ITCs over the last six months. They had been evading the GST officials and the summons. The couple was finally arrested last Thursday by the Surat City Police along with the help of Mumbai Police. The arrest was made by the police from the luxurious flat of the couple located in Surat. The operation was being planned by the police force for the past two days of making the arrest.

The GST Department of the Maharashtra State had been visiting and investigating these firms established by the arrested couple over the past few months before executing the operation. According to the report of comprehensive analytics, the officials were investigating the firms from August 2021.

During the proceedings of the GST officials during the investigation, the couple had been making excuses to prevent the action of the officials. They had been making excuses on medical grounds to avoid the summons made by the GST department. But the department officials continued the investigation and finally, they discovered a tax evasion worth Rs.111 crore made by the couple.

The GST officials and the Mumbai police finally arrested the accused couple from their Surat flat on Friday morning and brought them to Mumbai. They have presented in court. The court has passed an order to remand them at the judicial custody for 14 days.