DGGI Unearths Bogus Billing Scam in Morbi, Cracks Down on Rs 5.19 Crore GST Evasion in Ceramic Tile Industry.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) units in Ahmedabad and Rajkot have uncovered a fraudulent billing operation in Morbi. GST authorities revealed that the scam involved the secret distribution of ceramic tiles using dummy firms’ e-way bills and invoices, avoiding GST payments. To date, the DGGI has identified a GST evasion totaling Rs 5.19 crore, a figure that might increase as their investigation continues. One individual has been apprehended in relation to this scam.
A complaint from a ceramic manufacturers’ association triggered the investigation by the Ahmedabad and Rajkot zonal units. They discovered a loophole on the e-way bill portal allowing transporters to generate e-way bills for transactions that did not involve the actual consignor/consignee. This loophole facilitated the illicit supply of ceramic tiles, with officials uncovering 993 e-way bills generated through this exploitation. Following searches in several areas and insights from local intelligence and monitoring truck movements, the DGGI pinpointed transporters and other accomplices operating out of locations including Morbi, Jamnagar, and Dhrangadhra in Gujarat, as well as Sanchore and Ajmer in Rajasthan. The main suspect was captured in a village in Rajasthan’s Beawar district.
The suspect confessed to the illegal transport of ceramic tiles shielded by counterfeit invoices and e-way bills issued for fictitious companies.
Additionally, it was discovered that e-way bills were being created utilizing VPNs. Ongoing investigations aim to identify more transporters exploiting this gap and the entities that profited from this scheme.