Dimapur, December 12 (MExN): The Anti-Evasion Unit of the Central GST Commissionerate Dimapur has arrested two GST-registered taxpayers for allegedly issuing fake invoices without supplying any goods, resulting in large-scale tax evasion. In a press note on Friday, the department said Nazmul Islam and Jamal Ahmed Tapadar, who owned firms dealing in the trading of pan masala, were taken into custody on December 11 after investigators found extensive evidence of fraudulent activity.
According to the department, both individuals were “found issuing fake invoices without actual supply of goods and thereby evading tax.” Their firms were declared non-existent at the addresses provided during GST registration, and further verification showed that the documents submitted for obtaining registration “were fabricated and false.”
Scrutiny of GSTN data and return filings indicated that the two had shown outward supplies only on paper, with no corresponding movement of goods. This, the department stated, resulted in the wrongful passing of fraudulent Input Tax Credit. Nazmul Islam, proprietor of M/s S.N. Pan Shop, was found to have evaded approximately Rs 5 crore in tax. Jamal Ahmed Tapadar, who owned M/s J.A.T. Pan Shop and also controlled M/s Toshini Store, was assessed to have evaded Rs 6.24 crore.
Verification of e-way bill data for outward supplies declared by the firms revealed several inconsistencies. The department noted that the vehicle numbers, routes and movement patterns were not aligned with transportation from or through Dimapur, “corroborating the fact that no actual movement of goods took place.” Investigators also said that no financial records were produced to justify the high-value transactions reported in GST filings.
Based on these findings, the department said the two were found to have committed offences under Section 132(1)(b) of the CGST Act, relating to issuing invoices without actual supply of goods or services, and Section 132(1)(f), which pertains to falsifying or substituting financial records or producing fake documents with the intention to evade tax. These offences are cognizable and non-bailable under the CGST Act, the press note stated.
The two were arrested in Dimapur and produced before the court. The Central GST Commissionerate Dimapur added that further investigation is underway.
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