Central tax officers book 12,803 GST evasion cases in Gujarat in 4 years, 101 persons arrested

New Delhi: Central tax officers have booked 12,803 cases of GST evasion and arrested 101 persons during the past four financial years in Gujarat, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

"In the State of Gujarat, during Financial Year 2021-22 to 2024-25 (up to 31.10.2024), the number of GST evasion cases booked by Central Tax formations is 12,803," Sitharaman said.

In such cases, three FIRs were filed under the IPC (now Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) and eight persons were named in these FIRs, the minister said in reply to a question on the number of cases of GST evasion reported in Gujarat during the last three years, till October 30, 2024.

However, in the GST evasion cases, 101 persons have been arrested under the provisions of Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017.

In reply to a separate question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary gave details of the GST collections in the past five financial years.

In 2023-24, gross GST mop up stood at Rs 20.18 lakh crore. Refunds worth Rs 2.08 lakh crore were issued. In 2022-23, gross GST revenue was Rs 18.08 lakh crore and refunds issued stood at Rs 2.20 lakh crore.

In 2021-22 and 2020-21, gross collections were Rs 14.83 lakh crore and Rs 11.37 lakh crore. Refunds worth Rs 1.83 lakh crore and Rs 1.25 lakh crore respectively were issued during the two years.

In the current fiscal (April-October)gross GST collection stood at Rs 12.74 lakh crore, while refunds worth Rs 1.47 lakh crore were issued. Net GST collection stood at Rs 11.27 lakh.