Sales Tax officer booked in fake GST refund case

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday booked a sales tax officer (STO) for allegedly allowing fake Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds of ₹4.69 crore to a company without verification. The irregularities came to the fore following an internal inquiry by the state GST department.

The accused, Gajanan Lad, 59, is serving working as an STO in the State GST Department in Mazgaon. He was booked along with Intercrib Market, whose returns were allegedly fraudulently cleared by the STO in _____ (the year). According to the ACB officials, when Lad was posted in Ghatkopar in _______, he connived with the Intercrib Market to provide them with a refund. The company had also allegedly forged rent agreements to obtain a GST number for the firm.

“Though the trader did not pay any tax to the government in the form of GST, he submitted an application claiming a refund of ₹4.69 crore. Lad deliberately did not verify these applications and allowed the claims. Even though the government portal marked the claims as suspicious to him, Lad cleared it,” said a police officer.

A case was registered under sections 109 (abetment), 403 (dishonest misappropriation of property), 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant), 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property), 465 (forgery), 467 (forgery of valuable security) 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of the Indian Penal Code and under section 7 (offences related to public servants) and 13 (criminal misconduct by public servant) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.

The ACB officer said a similar fraud had surfaced in March 2024, where an STO was booked for allowing 39 fake proposals to the tune of ₹175.93 crore. “These companies showed fake exports and claimed GST refunds. However, everything was fake and no exports had taken place,” he said.

Source: Hindustan Times