In two recent cases of GST fraud uncovered by the commercial taxes department, an interesting modus operandi involving empty vehicles came to light. In one case, a fraudulent company’s overly cautious efforts to avoid official scrutiny raised suspicions.
In another, after officials discovered that an immobile car was being used to generate fake e-way bills, the vehicle was towed to a police station. Remarkably, the fraudsters, unaware that the car had been impounded, continued to generate fake e-way bills using the department’s application.
‘Violation of CGST Act’
Majid Hussain, an official from the commercial taxes department’s Mehdipatnam 1 circle, noted that the car had remained stationary since June 2025. Despite this, multiple e-way bills were issued using the vehicle’s registration number by various taxpayers, even though no goods were actually being transported. “After identifying this pattern, the vehicle was impounded, yet even a week later, e-way bills were still being generated. The situation grew more suspicious when the registered owner denied any knowledge of the vehicle, raising concerns of its misuse in GST fraud,” said sources.
This activity constitutes a violation of the central goods and services tax (CGST) Act, 2017, and is believed to involve criminal intent under Sections 318 and 336 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). A separate complaint has been lodged to initiate an FIR against the vehicle owner.
Bid to conceal scam
In another case involving a city-based company, fake invoices were generated by pretending that copper materials were being transported in empty vehicles. The fraud was detected due to company’s unusual level of caution.
“The company owner instructed the driver to park the vehicle, take photographs, and ensure the vehicle appeared on CCTV footage. This behaviour drew attention, and officials intercepted the empty vehicles at the Kamkole tollgate between Nizamabad and Maharashtra. While the company tried to conceal the scam by hiding the vehicles, occasional lapses revealed they were in fact empty,” the sources said.
Source #TOI
