Pradip Kumar Jain Vs Union of India (Allahabad High Court)
Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Pradip Kumar Jain and Devendra Kumar Jain in a case involving alleged fraudulent availment and passing on of Input Tax Credit (ITC) through fake invoices. The case was initiated by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI).
The prosecution alleged that Devendra Kumar Jain, proprietor of Aadi Enterprises and five other purportedly non-existent firms, operated these entities to fraudulently avail ITC amounting to Rs. 67.75 crores and pass on ITC worth Rs. 67.46 crores. It was further contended that Pradip Kumar Jain fraudulently availed ITC of Rs. 45.39 crores out of this amount. These transactions were allegedly conducted without the actual supply of goods, based solely on the issuance and receipt of fake tax invoices. Consequently, both individuals were accused of committing offences under Sections 132(1)(b) & (c) and Section 132(1)(i) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017.
Counsel for the applicants, Sri Pradeep Jain, Kunwar Gangesh Singh, Tarun Garg, and Sambhav Jain, argued that applicant Pradip Kumar Jain, proprietor of M/s Arav Enterprises and M/s N.P. Industries, had conducted actual business operations during the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21. They asserted that he genuinely purchased material and did not claim ITC on fake invoices. Regarding Devendra Kumar Jain, it was submitted that he had applied for cancellation of the GST registrations for five firms on December 1, 2020, which were subsequently cancelled, suggesting no tax liability at that time.
