Punjab GST dept busts billing scam worth Rs 350 crore

The Punjab GST Department on Friday claimed to have busted a bogus billing scam of Rs 350 crore.

A team of officials from the department had conducted raids at four places in Fatehgarh Sahib’s Mandi Gobindgarh and Amloh, said an official.

Assistant Commissioner Sunita Batra said during an investigation by the department, it was established that a network of firms was engaged in issuance of fake invoices and passing the bogus input tax credit to various firms in the state.

The department unearthed in its investigation that approximately 10 firms had in connivance with each other issued fake invoices worth Rs 350 crore, involving a tax amount of Rs 45 crore.

There was a cash withdrawal of Rs 70 crore from various banks.

These firms have issued bills without any inward or outward supply of goods and there is a direct loss of Rs 45 crore to the state exchequer, Batra told mediapersons.