Illegal Pan Masala Manufacturing Units Seized for Rs225 crore Tax Evasion: Indore
Report By: Nandika Chand | Last Updated June 13, 2020
The Central GST intelligence officers busted illegal pan masala manufacturing units in Indore following a tax evasion of Rs225 crore. Three persons have also been arrested.
The raids were conducted by a joint collaboration – officers from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), at 16 illicit and undeclared warehouses and residential houses in Indore and Ujjain. An official statement said the accused persons and their associates evaded GST estimated to be Rs225 crore on goods sold illegally during the period July, 2019 – March 2020. It said teh duty on this fraud is estimated to be Rs400 crore.
The statement further said the persons are believed to have resorted to a large scale illicit sale and supply of pan masala/tobacco during the nationwide lockdown period April and May 2020. “Organizers and masterminds made an unsuccessful attempt of disrupting the enforcement officials by engaging a mob of about 20 to 30 people during the search at one of the residential houses and factory premises on Thursday and Friday,” it said. “These attempts were effectively thwarted by the DGGI enforcement officers with timely and professional assistance by Madhya Pradesh Police.”
Investigations reveal that the persons had setup eight companies in the real estate, hospitality and media sectors to launder illicit wealth generated from these businesses. Its believed that more than 70 cargo trucks were used for this GST fraud over the past many years.
