A Customs inspector posted in Ahmedabad has been arrested for his alleged involvement in a large-scale fraud to illegally claim input tax credit by misusing IGST and cess benefits on exports.
The accused, identified as Inspector Roopram Yadav, was arrested by officials of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).
The case relates to a long-running racket involving the export of energy drinks, through which bogus input tax credit amounting to crores of rupees is suspected to have been availed.
Given that IGST and cess together amount to nearly 40% on such exports, investigators believe the total fraudulent credit could be substantial.
According to information available, export consignments were cleared at the Khodiyar Container Depot using a fictitious firm named Dharmaraj Enterprise. The firm allegedly existed only on paper and was used to dispatch export consignments in its name.
Officials suspect that the soft drinks shown in the export documents were fake, with investigations revealing that the bottles contained nothing more than sealed, coloured water.
Sources said that an Import Export Code (IEC) belonging to an associate of another Customs inspector was used to facilitate the exports, which were declared as energy drinks to claim higher tax benefits.
As several such consignments had already been exported, the quantum of bogus IGST input tax credit is expected to run into crores.
Following the receipt of a formal communication from the DRI regarding the probe, the Customs Department suspended Roopram Yadav on January 12.
DRI officials are said to have recovered digital evidence linking him to the fraud. His arrest was made after investigators established that the alleged illegal gains exceeded ₹2 crore, a threshold beyond which arrest provisions are invoked.
Investigators have also indicated the possible involvement of another Customs inspector or official in the scam. A probe into their role is currently under way, and further arrests are likely in the coming days.
