Kanpur transporter accused GST evasion denied bail

Vadodara: A transporter from Kanpur, who was arrested, for evading goods and service tax (GST) amounting to Rs 9.4 crore, was denied bail by a sessions court on Wednesday
The transporter Neeraj Tiwari, who is in currently in Vadodara Central Jail, had sought bail on August 6 claiming that the GST department had arrested him instead of another person in the same business as his. He also told the court that he is not responsible to pay the GST amount and the department is not arresting others whose names he had revealed.
The court of additional sessions judge M K Chauhan did not consider Tiwari’s argument and rejected his application.
“The accused has floated eight companies in Halol, Ahmedabad, Mehsana and Mumbai, but everything is on paper. He used to transport plastic from Halol to Kanpur but forge the e-way bill and invoices to show the lesser amount of goods,” said district government pleader Anil Desai. He added that the tax department has also found evidence that Tiwari has a huge turnover from his fake firms, but he did not pay GST.
The court also upheld the argument that the investigation is in the preliminary stage so Tiwari cannot be granted bail.