Bhupender Kumar Vs Additional Commissioner Adjudication CGST Delhi North & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court recently addressed a significant case concerning Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud in Bhupender Kumar v. Additional Commissioner Adjudication CGST Delhi North & Ors. The petition challenged a penalty order of approximately ₹285 crore imposed under Section 122(1A) of the CGST Act, 2017, along with other sections. Bhupender Kumar, a GST consultant, was accused of facilitating a large-scale fake ITC scam involving 63 fraudulent firms, with 54 used for illicit ITC claims. Investigations by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) revealed Kumar’s involvement, along with an alleged mastermind, in creating these firms and enabling the fraudulent availment of ITC.
The court’s findings indicated that the petitioner admitted to assisting in the registration of bogus firms using fraudulent documents and was aware of the fake nature of these transactions. A key point noted by the court was the petitioner’s failure to file a reply to the show cause notice, which alleged he benefited from the transactions through commission. The court underscored the severe impact of such misuse on the GST regime’s integrity. Given the complex factual analysis required, the court declined to interfere under its writ jurisdiction, advising the petitioner to pursue an appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, even if the limitation period had expired, ensuring the appeal would be heard on its merits.
