MM TAX CLUB

CGST Bhiwandi Commissionerate in Mumbai Zone based upon a specific intelligence has busted a case of non-payment of GST and fraudulent availment of Input Tax Credit, amounting to Rs. 78 Crore against M/S A S Agri and Aqua LLP having GSTIN 27ABLFA4344D1ZM. Based on material evidence gathered during investigation, 3 partners of said firm were arrested on 07.08.2022 under Section 69 of CGST Act, 2017 for contravention of Section 132 of the CGST Act, 2017, who established the firm (along with 16 other partners) and they were sent to judicial custody till 12.08.2022.

The said firm has not discharged the GST liability amounting to Rs. 53 Cr. on Advance payments amounting to Rs. 292 crore received from the recipients of Work Contract Services for construction of poly houses, which is taxable under Section 13(2)(b) of CGST Act, 2017. Further, the said firm has fraudulently availed ITC amounting to Rs. 25 Cr on the Work Contract Services for construction of immovable property, which is not available under the provisions of Section 17(5)(c) of the CGST Act, 2017.

This case is a part of the special drive launched by the CGST Mumbai Zone against the tax fraudsters and fake ITC networks. So far, CGST Bhiwandi Commissionerate has arrested 14 persons in last one year itself.

CGST officers are using data analysis and network analysis tools to identify and trace the potential fraudsters. CGST officers will intensify this drive against the tax evaders in the coming days.

CBIC has endeavored to provide an Anonymized Escalation Mechanism for ICEGATE registered users where they submit their grievance for delay in Bill of Entry clearance under faceless assessment. The delay in clearance would subsequently be escalated to the concerned Faceless Assessment Officers.

The Anonymised Escalation facility also enables users to track the status of grievances submitted by them till the eventual resolution.

Please note that grievance can be logged for delay in Bill of Entry clearance if the below criterias are met:

1. There should be a minimum 24 hours gap after filing of BE for the registration of grievance request
2. Grievance can be logged for Bill of Entries in which IGM number and date has been mentioned.

The following step wise guide is to be followed for logging a grievance and tracking a previously logged grievance through Anonymised Escalation Mechanism available post login on ICEGATE.

Logging a grievance

1. Login through ICEGATE user portal.
2. Select “Taxpayer’s Grievance Application” and then click on “Register BE (Bill of Entry) Grievance”.
3. Enter Bill of Entry details and click on Submit button to create a grievance.
4. If the details match the specified criterias for grievance creation, a new grievance will be created and a grievance number shall be provided for tracking purpose. Otherwise appropriate error message will be generated.

Tracking previously logged grievance status

Status of the registered grievance can be tracked by providing ICEGATE ID and either of the following:

• Bill of Entry details, including Bill of Entry number, Bill of Entry date and Port code
• Grievance number

1. Login through ICEGATE user portal.
2. Select “Taxpayer’s Grievance Application” and then click on “Track BE Grievance”.
3. Grievance status can be fetched either with grievance details or BE details. Click on search type drop down and select the search type.

1. Search by Grievance details:

1. Select Type as Grievance Details and enter Grievance Number and Grievance date and click on Submit
2. Grievance status shall be shown as below:

2. Search by Bill of Entry details:

1. Select type as Bill of Entry (BE) details and enter Bill of Entry number, port code and date
2. Grievance status shall be shown as below

For any further queries or help kindly contact ICEGATE Helpdesk Team on icegatehelpdesk@icegate.gov.in or 1800-3010-1000

Operator of three firms arrested for fake bills worth Rs.231.49 cr.

Maharashtra Goods & Service Tax Department has arrested Mr. Brijesh Vanitlal Shah, age- 48, operator of M/s. Om Impex and two other firms, on 04.08.2022 under the special investigation operation carried out against tax evading firms.

An investigation visit was conducted at the place of business of M/s. Om Impex. During preliminary investigation it was found that M/s. Om Impex and two other firms viz. M/s Brijeshwari Enterprises and M/s Chetna Metals LLP have availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs.41.67 cr. from suspected non-genuine tax payers by means of fake bills worth Rs.231.49 cr.

Metropolitan Magistrate Court has remanded Mr. Brijesh Vanitlal Shah to 14 days judicial custody. The operation was conducted under the guidance of Mr. Rahul Dwivedi (IAS), Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Investigation-A, Mumbai and Mr. Nilkanth Ghogare, Deputy Commissioner of State Tax and led by the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax Mr. Santoshkumar Rajput along with Mr.  Amol Suryawanshi and Mrs. Leena Kale.

With this, the State GST department has made thirty arrests in the current financial year. Given the comprehensive analytical tools and the inter-departmental coordination state GST has been deploying, this number is further going to increase thereby giving strong signal to the fraudsters and strengthening its drive against such people.

The Income Tax Department carried out a search and seizure operation on 28.07.2022 on an ex-fund manager and chief trader of equities of a prominent mutual fund house along with related sharebrokers, middlemen and entry operators. The search action covered more than 25 premises, spread across Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bhuj and Kolkata.

As a result of the search operation, various incriminating evidences in the form of documents and digital data have been found and seized. These evidences gathered during the search including sworn statements recorded from various persons have revealed the modus operandi.  It has been detected that the said fund manager and chief trader were sharing specific trade related information with brokers/middlemen and persons located in certain foreign jurisdictions. These persons in turn, used such information for illicit gains in the share market by trading in such scrips either in their own account or account of their clients. These persons including family members of the fund manager have admitted in their statements that the unaccounted cash generated from the above operations was routed mainly through Kolkata based shell entities into their bank accounts. From these bank accounts, funds have been further diverted into the bank accounts of companies/entities incorporated in India and other low tax jurisdictions. The gleaning of seized evidences has exposed the nexus between the ex-fund manager, middlemen, share brokers, and entry operators.

Evidences of large-scale unaccounted investment in cash loans, fixed deposits, immovable properties and their renovation, etc. have also been found and seized. More than 20 lockers have been put under restraint. So far, unaccounted deposits exceeding Rs. 55 crore have been seized.

Further investigations are in progress.