One arrested in ₹5.83 cr. fake input tax credit case

Officials of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Visakhapatnam Zonal Unit, detected fraudulent Input Tax Credit claims worth ₹5.83 crore by D. N. Srinivasa Reddy, managing partner of M/s Sri Progressive Projects. The ITC was availed through fake invoices without any corresponding supply of goods or services.

According to a release issued by the DGGI on Saturday, the invoices were generated by non-existent paper entities. In some cases, fake invoices were raised in the guise of sub-contracting works by a dummy firm controlled by M. Manoj Kumar, who was arrested earlier in the same case. He allegedly retained a commission of about 3% and routed the remaining amounts through mule accounts.

The investigation found D. N. Srinivasa Reddy to be the principal beneficiary of the fraudulent ITC. The offences committed attract the provisions of Section 132(1)(c) of the CGST Act, 2017, which are cognisable and non-bailable. Accordingly, he was arrested under Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017.