A significant Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud case centred in Belgaum is poised to trap numerous prominent businessmen and influential individuals across the state. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the sole accused, income tax consultant Nakeeb Najeeb Mulla, a 24-year-old resident of Belagavi, has unlawfully utilised several prominent figures’ names and GST numbers.
Police apprehended Mulla on July 10 in connection with this expansive fraud. It has been discovered that he fabricated a business record worth Rs 132 crore and subsequently received Rs 23.82 crore of Input Tax Credit (ITC) from the government. Those who paid their taxes through him are now facing repercussions.
Many prominent business people across 12 districts within the Belagavi GST zone were duped into paying their GST through Mulla. Despite their honest intentions, these businessmen were defrauded by falsified documents indicating GST payments that were never remitted to the department.
Initially, Mulla committed minor fraud before devising a scheme to embezzle substantial sums of money. He established a fake company, ‘Federal Logistics,’ and created documents for transactions amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees. Officials uncovered this deception, noting that the fraudulent activities occurred over three months.
The extent of Mulla’s fraudulent activities and the duration of his operation are the subjects of an ongoing investigation. A comprehensive investigation is underway to reveal the full scope of the scam and potentially implicate others who were caught up in the scheme.
This case marks the first instance in the country where such a significant amount of credit money has been consumed using fake invoices. Businessmen who had paid their GST money honestly now face the burden of repayment to the department and accrued interest for unpaid amounts.
Mulla has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days. He faces a litany of charges including tax evasion, fraud, operating a fake business, and causing substantial losses to government coffers. Dinesh P. Rao Pangarakar, Principal Commissioner of the Central Excise Commissioner’s Office of Central Goods and Services Tax, told Organiser that , “After our officials complete the investigation and submit the report, the full information about the scam will be revealed.”
