A Delhi man preparing to file his income-tax return made an unexpected discovery while checking his Annual Information Statement (AIS). Tax records showed a business income of around ₹79.4 crore linked to his PAN, even though he says he had never owned or operated the business, a TOI report stated. The GST-related activity was connected to a business registered at a Mumbai address. The man has told the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the Delhi Police that he had no knowledge of the firm and had never authorised anyone to use his identity details for the registration. The case has raised concerns over the alleged misuse of PAN and KYC details to create a GST registration and conduct transactions in another person's name.
₹79 crore business linked to Delhi man's PAN
The discovery was made when the complainant was preparing his income-tax return for 2025-26 and reviewing his AIS. According to his complaint, he found a GST registration and related commercial activity associated with his PAN. The income-tax data reflected outward supplies of around ₹79.4 crore.
The figure does not mean that the man personally earned ₹79.4 crore. He has specifically denied having made the reported supplies, issued invoices, received payments or earned any income from the transactions. The AIS also reportedly showed GST-related purchase information involving several suppliers and counterparties under the same GST identification number.
He says Mumbai firm had nothing to do with him
The GST registration listed a business premises in Mumbai. The complainant told police that he had never owned, rented, occupied or conducted any business from the premises associated with the GST account. He also denied having applied for the GST registration or authorised anyone to operate a business using his PAN, photograph, address, mobile number, email credentials or other KYC documents.
The GST portal record cited in the complaint showed that the GSTIN had been cancelled suo-moto, with the cancellation effective from August 17, 2025. That was also the date shown for the registration. The record further indicated that Aadhaar had not been authenticated and e-KYC had not been verified.
Man says he never shared OTP or Aadhaar details
The complainant has also denied knowingly participating in any of the verification steps associated with the GST registration. He said he did not knowingly receive or share an OTP, Aadhaar authentication request, email verification, electronic verification code or digital signature credentials for obtaining or operating the GST account. That has become one of the issues investigators are expected to examine as part of the probe into how the registration was created.
EOW investigates alleged PAN misuse
The Delhi Police EOW has registered an FIR following the complaint. Police said a prima facie case was made out under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita concerning cheating by personation, cheating, forgery, use of forged documents or electronic records as genuine and criminal conspiracy.
Investigators are now looking into who created the GST registration, who subsequently operated it and who filed returns using the GSTIN. The probe will also examine the businesses and suppliers connected with the reported transactions and the financial trail associated with the ₹79.4 crore in outward supplies.
What should you do if your PAN is misused?
The case also highlights why taxpayers should regularly check the information appearing against their PAN in tax records. If you discover an unfamiliar business, GST registration or transaction linked to your PAN, the first step is to preserve the relevant records and screenshots. Taxpayers should check the details in their AIS and other available tax records and identify the GSTIN or transaction associated with the discrepancy.
The matter should then be reported through the appropriate income-tax and GST grievance mechanisms. If identity documents have allegedly been misused or a fraudulent registration has been created, filing a police complaint can also create an official record of the dispute.
It is important to keep copies of the complaint, acknowledgement numbers, GST records and other supporting documents. These can help establish that the taxpayer disputed the transactions and did not knowingly operate the business.
In this case, the Delhi resident approached the EOW after finding the unexplained GST activity in his tax records. The police investigation will now determine how his credentials were allegedly used and who was behind the transactions.
