Rs 34.7 crore fraudulent Input Tax Credit racket busted

Thane: The Thane Central Goods and Services Tax and Central Excise commissionerate on Friday arrested three persons in a fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket that caused a loss of Rs 40.66 crore to the exchequer, officials said.

Bhaven Kachiyapatel, the alleged mastermind, along with Dileep Bhatt and Hardik Shah played a pivotal role in the scam, said a release here.

The accused allegedly floated 19 bogus firms to avail of fraudulent ITC of about Rs 40.66 crore, and passed on fraudulent ITC of Rs 34.74 crore, it said.

A magistrate here remanded all three accused in judicial custody for 14 days. Further investigation is under way.