The Delhi Police have busted a fake Goods and Services Tax (GST) firm racket and arrested two individuals, including a practicing lawyer, for creating bogus firms and issuing fake invoices to facilitate fraudulent GST settlements, police said on Saturday.
The police also obtained records from the GST Department, which confirmed that two firms were indeed fraudulently registered using Sumit’s PAN details. A physical verification of the addresses provided for these firms showed that they were fictitious, police said.
The accused, identified as Sandeep (27) from Panipat, Haryana and Inderpal (45), an advocate from Burari, Delhi, were using genuine documents to float fake companies and carry out illegal billing operations worth crores of rupees.
The operation was conducted by Delhi Police Cyber Cell in South West District when the case came to light and a complaint was lodged by Sumit, a resident of Sagarpur. Sumit had applied for GST registration for his business using his PAN card but was shocked to discover that two GST numbers had already been issued in his name without his knowledge or consent. He further stated that these companies, registered with his PAN, were operational and had been conducting business under different names. He also alleged that a SIM card had been fraudulently issued using his Aadhaar details. These fraudulent activities not only caused him reputational harm but also posed serious financial risks.
Based on the complaint, a case was registered at PS Cyber, South West Delhi under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code including cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. The case was investigated by a dedicated team under the supervision of Inspector Pravesh Kaushik, SHO of Cyber police station and the overall guidance of ACP Vijay Kumar.
With the help of technical surveillance, the team tracked down the movements of the suspects, who were operating between Delhi and Haryana.
The first arrest was made in Panipat, where Sandeep was nabbed. During questioning, he confessed that he had been working with Advocate Inderpal for the last seven years. Their operation involved procuring GST firms from associates in Delhi for amounts ranging from `25,000 to `30,000 each. These associates also provided login credentials and SIM cards linked to the firms.
Once in possession of the login details, Sandeep and Inderpal would access the GST accounts, change the registered email IDs and mobile numbers to gain full control and then use Tally software to create and upload fake invoices on the GST portal. These invoices were issued to clients looking to fraudulently adjust their GST liabilities.
After Sandeep’s arrest, police traced Inderpal to Kairana in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh, where he had gone into hiding. He was apprehended there and brought to Delhi on police custody remand. Inderpal admitted to purchasing the GST firms and handling the coordination with clients, while Sandeep managed the digital aspects of the operation.
The police recovered three smart phones, one laptop and a pen drive from the accused. These devices are believed to contain data related to the fake firms and bogus invoices.
The arrests have revealed the existence of a broader syndicate that supplies fake GST firm setups, documents, and SIM cards to fraudsters. Police officials have indicated that further investigation is ongoing and more arrests are likely in connection with the racket.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South West) Amit Goel said the case highlights how easily government systems can be misused with genuine documents and how fraudsters are exploiting GST mechanisms for illegal gains.
