Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Nov 17: The Maharashtra GST department has arrested three businessmen in connection with separate Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud cases totaling over Rs 180 crore.

In the first case, Rachna Prabhatkumar Maheshwari, director of Narwhal Chemicals and Fertilizers International Pvt. Ltd., was arrested for allegedly issuing bogus invoices and wrongfully availing ITC worth Rs 56.57 crore, resulting in substantial revenue loss to the government.

In a separate case, Vipul Maheshwari, director of Abhay Trading Pvt. Ltd., was taken into custody for his alleged role in a large-scale fake invoice and ITC racket amounting to Rs 114.63 crore. Investigations revealed that Abhay Trading fraudulently utilized non-genuine ITC of Rs 51.13 crore from Pluto Chemicals Ltd., part of a cluster of firms issuing fake invoices without actual supply of goods. Additionally, Vipul Maheshwari allegedly availed ITC of Rs 58 crore from related parties and passed on fake ITC worth Rs 56.63 crore between July 2017 and March 2023.

In the third case, the Anti-Evasion team of Central GST Palghar arrested Sanjay Sutar and Hitesh Babulal Patel, partners of Esspee Enterprises, for availing ITC of Rs 9.78 crore through invoices issued by non-genuine or fake supplier firms.

The arrests highlight the ongoing crackdown by Maharashtra tax authorities on fraudulent ITC claims and fake invoice operations affecting state revenue.