In a relief to Future Group’s non-executive director Sunil Biyani, the Bombay High Court has granted him protection from arrest in a Rs 1,200-crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) scam.
Justice N R Borkar, on Friday, granted relief after noting that the Central GST authority had not passed any order that called for Biyani’s arrest. “In absence of such an order under Section 69 of the CGST Act, Biyani cannot be arrested. In that view of the matter, at this stage, the present Anticipatory Bail Application cannot be entertained,” the Court held.
The judge, however, added that if the Central GST authority were to pass any such order, then Biyani shall not be arrested thereafter for a week from the date of intimation of such order.
Probe into alleged GST irregularities
The industrialist had approached the High Court seeking pre-arrest bail after the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) issued summons to him.
The authority is conducting a probe in relation to large-scale fake invoicing and a circular input tax credit racket with a total GST implication of over Rs 200 crores. It alleged that invoices and input tax credit exist on paper and not in real business activity.
It claimed that custodial interrogation was necessary considering the magnitude of the alleged evasion, layered transactions and electronic evidence.
Biyani’s plea contended that he had emailed his resignation from the relevant company in July 2023. He denied any role in the alleged fraud, claiming that he had been dragged into the investigation despite offering to co-operate and respond in writing to the summons.
