With the Diwali shopping picking up pace, the State GST (SGST) Department is planning special checks on traders dealing in textiles, garments and electronics to detect suspected tax evasion and fake billing.
The proposed exercise will focus on businesses allegedly issuing bogus invoices to claim or pass on wrongful Input Tax Credit (ITC). Officials will examine suspicious billing patterns, discrepancies in tax records and transactions that do not appear to involve genuine movement of goods.
As of January 30, 2026, investigations conducted by the SGST Department and the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) between 2019 and early 2026 had uncovered fake invoices worth Rs 12,962 crore and tax evasion of Rs 1,837 crore across Gujarat.
The scale of the problem was evident in 2019, when investigators busted a Vadodara-based network of 66 dummy firms allegedly issuing invoices worth around Rs 1,210 crore. These invoices could have facilitated wrongful ITC claims of Rs 177 crore.
The DGGI’s Ahmedabad unit uncovered two alleged tax-fraud rackets in January 2026 involving fraudulent ITC claims exceeding Rs 262 crore, according to reports. In one case, investigators reportedly detected fraudulent ITC worth around Rs 252.66 crore against a taxable value of approximately Rs 1,403.66 crore. Searches in Ahmedabad, Jamnagar and Mumbai led to the seizure of records and digital devices.
“During the festive season, we are examining suspicious billing patterns flagged in business records, along with discrepancies between invoices and e-way bills, to identify possible tax irregularities. Textiles, garments and electronics are under focus because of their extensive wholesale and retail supply chains across the state,” an SGST source told Mirror.
A CGST source said officials would scrutinise business records, tax invoices, GST returns and purchase and sales entries to identify mismatches. E-way bills would also be cross-checked with invoices and other records. Officials will look for entities that allegedly exist only on paper.
They will also examine dealings between linked businesses and suspicious ITC claims to identify bogus billing networks.
Source from: https://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/fake-gst-billing-under-scanner/81924398.html
