The Noida Police have taken severe measures vis-a-vis a major scam on Goods and Services Tax (GST) charging 33 individuals with Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act. This stringent action signifies the seriousness with which authorities are treating the case.
The network was discovered in June 2023 and purportedly set up thousands of fake companies using illegal identities. They filed for fake express-way bills and imported input tax credits from the government, leading to significant revenue loss by the government.
Currently, 45 individuals are under arrest with respect to this case. People who got arrested were from Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Sirsa (Haryana), Jaipur (Rajasthan), and Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh), hinting at just how large scale the fraudulency may be.
The decision to invoke the Gangsters Act against 33 of the accused suggests that the police believe they were not just isolated individuals but part of a larger organised crime syndicate. This Act allows for stricter penalties and preventive detention measures compared to regular criminal charges.
“An FIR has been filed at the Sector 20 police station under relevant sections of the Gangster Act against 33 people,” informed a senior police officer. The officer also mentioned that the authorities are considering attaching the properties of the accused in the future to further disrupt their financial activities.
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This decisive action by the Noida Police sends a strong message to potential GST fraudsters. It demonstrates the authorities’ commitment to cracking down on such economic offences and safeguarding government revenue. Additionally, it could encourage further investigation into similar scams across the country.
Authorities are likely to be working towards closing the loopholes and putting in place stricter verification processes so as to avoid similar scams in future, the development also points to how complicated the implementation of GST can be creating the need for strong measures that can help avert those kind of frauds.
