Arvind Kumar Vs Directorate General of GST Intelligence (Punjab and Haryana High Court)
Punjab and Haryana High Court has granted regular bail to Arvind Kumar, proprietor of Bhumi Steel Traders, who was implicated in a Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud case involving alleged fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs. 18.22 crores. The decision, delivered in the case of Arvind Kumar Vs. Directorate General of GST Intelligence, highlighted the petitioner’s period of incarceration, the bail granted to a co-accused, and the absence of prior criminal record.
Arvind Kumar was accused under Section 132(1) of the CGST Act, 2017, read with relevant provisions of the Punjab GST Act, 2017, and Section 20 of the IGST Act, 2012. The allegations against him were that his firm, Bhumi Steel Traders, availed fake ITC invoices from fictitious firms purportedly created and operated by Deepanshu Srivastav and Mohit Kumar.
During the proceedings, the counsel for the petitioner argued that Arvind Kumar had been falsely implicated. It was submitted that Deepanshu Srivastav, identified as a key person in the alleged fraudulent invoice scheme and responsible for the Rs. 18.22 crore loss to the state exchequer, had already been granted bail by the Lucknow High Court on March 19, 2024. This fact was presented as a significant ground for seeking similar relief for the petitioner.
