Gujarat Pharma Group Under GST Scanner for Rs 115 Cr Bogus Billing, Two Held
Ahmedabad: The State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) department in Gujarat has unearthed a significant case of tax evasion involving a pharmaceutical business group that operated through 11 interconnected entities, uncovering nearly Rs 115 crore of suspicious transactions.
During the probe, authorities flagged a total of ₹114.89 crore in taxable transactions that were apparently fabricated on paper, along with fraudulent claims of input tax credit (ITC) amounting to ₹20.68 crore. These irregularities indicated systematic misuse of the GST system to unlawfully reduce tax liabilities and inflate credits.
Following detailed investigative work, the SGST department arrested two individuals linked to the group. These individuals were produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate in Ahmedabad and were remanded to judicial custody until February 3 as the case proceeds through court.
The crackdown came after coordinated search operations were carried out at 32 business premises across 14 locations in and around Ahmedabad. Investigators discovered that several of the entities allegedly involved did not have functioning offices at the addresses declared in their GST registrations. Many were either non-operational or were operating from a shared location in Makarba, suggesting a network of dummy firms set up primarily for fraudulent billing.
Officials further revealed that some firms had altered their GST registration details to include categories like iron and steel trading, apparently to facilitate bogus invoicing. These fake bills, combined with contrived e-way bills, were used to falsely claim input tax credits without any actual movement of goods or services taking place.
The SGST department also utilised modern investigative tools such as data analytics, RFID tracking and toll plaza verification to confirm that the transactions were fictitious and lacked physical substance. Given that the amount involved in the evasion far exceeded ₹5 crore, the alleged offence is treated as cognisable and non-bailable under the CGST and GGST Acts, enabling authorities to take stricter action.
The Times of India reports that further investigations are ongoing, including detailed scrutiny of seized documents, digital records and financial trails, as well as examination of possible links to entities operating outside Gujarat.
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