Senior official of Chinese smartphone maker arrested for ITC fraud of Rs 19 crore

A senior official of a Chinese smartphone maker in Maharashtra’s Thane was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly fraudulently availing input tax credit (ITC) worth Rs 19 crore through fake invoices, an official said.
The accused was arrested by the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Commissionerate of Mumbai Zone.
The accused was identified as Mahendra Kumar Rawat, the manager of Finance and Accounts division of the smartphone manufacturer.
The CGST Bhiwandi Commissionerate said in a statement that Rawat was arrested in Bhiwandi town and later produced in a local court, which remanded him in judicial custody till April 3.
“Based on material evidence gathered during the investigation, he was arrested under section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017 for contravention of section 132 of the same Act,” the statement further said.
“The supplier of Oppo Mobiles India Pvt ltd, M/S Gain Hero India Private Limited, was found to be non-existent at its principal place of business. In this connection, 16 e-way bills for the said transaction were verified and found to be fake. Further, statements of the transporters and vehicle owner were recorded, wherein it was revealed that there was no supply of goods to Oppo Maharashtra,” it added.
The official informed further that Rawat played a key role in availing the said fraudulent ITC amounting to Rs 19,27,54,093 against the invoices amounting to Rs 107,08,56,072 issued by Gain Hero India Private Limited, without receipt of the goods.
The official added that the accused admitted that the e-way bills generated were fake.
Central GST Bhiwandi Commissioner Sumit Kumar informed that this case is a part of the special drive launched by the CGST Mumbai Zone against tax fraudsters and tax evaders.
“So far, CGST Bhiwandi Commissionerate has arrested 24 persons in the last 18 months itself,” he added.