10-02-22 Daily-Gujarat-GPSC Current Affairs

Ever since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime was rolled out in July 2017, fake billing scams have continued to drain government coffers in Gujarat. The data of the state commercial tax department suggests that stateGSTofficials have detected fake billing transactions to the tune of Rs 32,310 crore inGujarattill December 2021. About 1,875 shell companies were involved in various cases that led to the draining of Rs 4,264 crore from government coffers through fraudulent claims for input tax credit (ITC).

The as well as the Centre are introducing policy measures to plug loopholes but the constantly changing modus operandi has only led to a surge in the number of cases reported year after year.

From April to December 2021, about 1,172 cases of fake billing were detected by the state authorities. That shows a 67% jump in cases over the numbers of the previous three years combined (2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21), during which about 703 cases of fake billing scams were detected, stated officials of theSGSTdepartment.