PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/ Dehradun
In a search operation with no or few parallels in the State, the Uttarakhand GST investigation department officials floated multiple firms to establish business links with a Sitarganj-based company, which supplies transformers and allied services, on being informed about its tax evasion.
The GST officials said that out to unearth tax evasion to the tune of over Rs 150 crore, they had first tried to win the confidence of the company. It took them several months to put the exercise into operation.
A senior officer of the Special Investigation Bureau, State Goods & Services Tax, Kumaun Region, said that this company had been carrying on sale-purchase in the name of a sham company, which it had shut down long back and was suppressing sales to evade tax.
Subsequently, an operation was launched at the factory premises of the supplier on March 18. It continued for about eight hours. During it, multiple documents were seized. Besides, the GST revenue worth about Rs 20 crore was recovered and deposited.
The department officers further said that as per the preliminary investigation, there are a number of players involved in this tax evasion racket. To unearth the network, the department deployed AI tools and forensic technology.
Importantly, the Uttarakhand GST department had conducted a similar high-tech operation against a timber racket which operated in Jaspur in Udham Singh Nagar district. They would generate fake invoices to pass on fraudulent Input Tax Credit to the tune of crores of rupees, the officers said.
