DGGI arrests Ludhiana bizman in Rs 347-cr bogus billing case

LUDHIANA: The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Zonal Unit in Punjab's Ludhiana, has arrested a businessman of Subhash Nagar for being involved in the Rs 347-crore bogus billing scam.
Rahul Bassi was produced before the court of duty magistrate on Friday which has remanded him in fourteen days of judicial custody.
According to the highly-placed sources, DGGI — during its further investigation in the case of Rs 347-crore fake billing of mobile phones and GST evasion of Rs 63 crore — found out that Bassi had a major role because of which he was arrested on Thursday.
The accused, believed to be one of the masterminds, connived with Vishal Rai (who has already been arrested on January 7th 2023 and is presently in judicial custody) in creation of more than twenty-five dummy firms in the name of other individuals, without their knowledge and consent.
Both the accused are believed to be involved in obtaining and issuing invoices without receipt, supply of goods leading to wrongful availment of inadmissible Input Tax credit (ITC) amounting to Rs 63 crore through three firms namely The Mobile Emperior, Jai Ambey International and S.K.Traders operated by Vishal Rai in connivance with Rahul Bassi.
Sources also claimed that as per Vishal Rai’s statement, Bassi was his partner of 50 per cent in the money earned from such GST Fraud.
It has also emerged that on January 10, 2023 DGGI conducted search at the residence of Bassi but he and his family fled from their home after locking it.
The DGGI had to break open the locks and during the search officials found some diaries in which details of transactions worth crores of rupees earned from the bogus billing scam were found written in the handwriting of Bassi.
In this case, the DGGI till date has cancelled registrations of more than 30 firms from the jurisdictional GST authorities which were found involved in this fraud, fictitious, non-existent fake during the course of investigation.
Tax practioner took Rs 95 lakh on name of bribe money for GST officials.
Sources privy to this investigation have also revealed that as per the statements of both the accused, a renowned advocate-cum-GST practitioner of Ludhiana was charging Rs 14 lakh per firm from them for closure of each such firm after its sales cross Rs 22-23 crore.
They have also claimed that the said person has taken Rs 95 lakh from the accused in the span of two months only in the name of bribe money for GST officials out of which an amount of Rs 25 lakh has been received through banking channels.
It has also been learnt that another renowned advocate having office near DMC Hospital has taken Rs 12 lakh from Rahul Bassi after the arrest of Vishal Rai with the promise of getting him clean chit from DGGI.