The premises of the cement factory in Maihar, Satna and the dealers and distributors were searched
Bhopal:
A week-long search by the Central GST Intelligence Team or DGGI at the premises of a large cement manufacturer and related dealers in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh led to the detection of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud of Rs 17.2 crore. While one of the directors of the cement factory has been arrested, another director is on the run.
According to sources at the DGGI – the enforcement body of the Central Commission for Indirect Taxes and Customs or CBIC – the multiple searches were carried out from August 5 to 11 in the premises of the cement company located in Maihar, Satna and their concessionaires and registered distributors. . One of the directors produced a medical opinion regarding the symptoms of COVID-19, signed by the Chief Medical Officer of Health, but then ran.
Research has shown that significant amounts of cement and clinker were secretly supplied without paying GST in Madhya Pradesh and the UP. It was also found that over four lakh tonnes of limestone was purchased in addition to what was stated in the company’s records from January to July of this year.
The DGGI team retrieved cash transactions from the private records of company officials revealing unrecorded credit of over Rs 7.5 crore for a few months in 2018.
The GST implication on these transactions is estimated to be around Rs 2.1 crore. Unaccounted for cash of Rs 52.39 lakh was also found during searches.
This was DGGI’s third major research operation in Madhya Pradesh recently, following similar searches at the premises of media baron and chewing tobacco trader Kishore Wadhwani, accused of tax evasion up to Rs 400 crore.
The DGGI said that during the transit removal process in a court in Mumbai, the defendant Wadhwani said he had coronavirus. He later tested negative.
GST intelligence agents arrested the CEO of the SOM distillery in connection with an alleged tax evasion of Rs 30 crore. Promoters Jagdish Arora and Ajay Arora were questioned for more than 28 hours before their arrest. Then they complained of health problems and were admitted to the intensive care unit at JP Hospital. They were brought to justice after doctors said their health was good.
