Surat: The state goods and services tax department on Wednesday arrested one person for alleged tax evasion and a racket involving fraudulently claiming input tax credit. The accused, Sandeep Anwar Virani, was allegedly involved in a racket where Rs 19.50 crore of GST was evaded.
Virani, a partner in Fortune Copper Industries, was produced in the court of the chief judicial magistrate and remanded in custody till Nov 16.
Based on specific intelligence and analysis, a search and seizure action was initiated by the department on Tuesday against 14 taxpayers dealing in copper in Surat, Rajkot, Bharuch, Vapi, Junagadh and Bhavnagar. During the investigation, it emerged that such firms committed large-scale tax evasion by showing bogus purchases of copper.
The investigation further revealed that four bogus entities were found, and the total tax evasion detected was in excess of Rs 48 crore. Input tax credit amounting to Rs 1.93 crore was blocked and attachments to the tune of Rs 4.46 crore were effected to secure govt revenue.