Maharashtra GST officials nab Surat couple for tax evasion of Rs 111 crore

Maharashtra GST department has arrested a couple from Surat for tax evasion of over Rs 111 crore.

Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax (GST) department arrested a couple from Gujarat's Surat on charges of GST evasion through fake Input Tax Credit (ITC).

The couple had floated various bogus firms such as Dolphin Overseas and Prime Overseas in the name of unrelated persons and accepted bogus invoices of approximately Rs 482 crore and availed fake ITC of approximately Rs 111 crore.

Prima Mhatre and Sanjeev Singh, proprietors of overseas firms, were arrested by the GST department in a joint operation with the Mumbai police on Thursday.

The couple has been evading the GST officials and summons for the past six months. With the help of Mumbai Police and the Surat City Police the accused were finally apprehended at their luxurious flat in Surat after a well-planned operation that lasted for over two days.

Based on comprehensive analytics, the investigation wing of the Maharashtra State GST Department started investigating these firms in August 2021.

However, the couple made excuses during probe proceedings on medical grounds and evaded GST officials. The GST department continued its search operation at various places and found collective tax evasion of approximately Rs 111 Crore by the couple.

The accused were brought to Mumbai on Friday morning and were produced in court. They have been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.