Over 29,000 bogus firms, involved in evading Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues of more than ₹44,000 crore, have been busted over the past seven months, leading to 121 arrests, the Finance Ministry said on January 7.
This is a result of a special drive against fake invoices supplied by non-existent firms, being carried out by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs with State governments. Fake invoices are used by firms to avail input tax credit (ITC) without any underlying supply of goods and services taking place.
“Since the initiation of the special drive against fake registrations in mid-May 2023, a total of 29,273 bogus firms involved in suspected Input Tax Credit (ITC) evasion of ₹44,015 crore have been detected. This has saved ₹4,646 crore of which ₹3,802 crore is by blocking of ITC and ₹844 crore is by way of recovery,” the Ministry said.
