Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Sep 19: Officials of commercial taxes department's Karnataka division, who have succeeded in cracking a huge GST evasion in granite industry, have arrested an industrialist who was based in Jigani in the district. The arrested man happens to be Kuldeep Choudhary, owner of Neelakanth Granite Exports, Jigani.

The officials have accused Choudhary of evading GST by creating false bills and fake e-way bills. This happens to be the first ever inter-state GST fraud case. The government has been cheated of tax amounting to about five and half crore rupees as per an estimate. Coudhary was arrested from Madurai. After the implementation of GST in Karnataka, the state government had streamlined e-Sugama system to keep an eye on the GST payment.

It is said that Choudhary, who was doing business illegally, found it hard to continue with his illegal transactions after the implementation of e-Sugama. He therefore closed down his granite business here and escaped to Madurai in Tamil Nadu where he started to operate the same business, the officials say.

Additional commissioner of GST in south zone commercial taxes department (enforcement), Nitish K Patil, along with assistant commissioner of enforcement department, Rafi Pasha, had formed special team to crack this case. The team put together all the information about Choudhary's business dealings, found that he was in Madurai, and succeeded in taking him into custody. He is being interrogated now.

Prima facie the officials have found that Choudhary has cheated the government GST to the extent of Rs 5.5 crore. The officials guess the amount of fraud might be much higher.