Amit Mehra Vs Union of India (Punjab And Haryana High Court)
The Punjab and Haryana High Court considered a petition seeking regular bail in a case registered under Section 132(1)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, punishable under Section 132(1)(i) of the CGST Act and Section 20(xv) of the IGST Act. The prosecution alleged that a firm had availed Input Tax Credit (ITC) on the basis of goods-less invoices issued by multiple non-existent firms. During the investigation, searches were conducted at the premises of the beneficiary firm and the alleged supplier firms, which were found to be non-existent. Statements of directors and employees of the beneficiary firm indicated that the invoices were procured with the assistance of the petitioner, who was stated to be operating one of the bogus firms.
Further searches at the petitioner’s residence and that of his accountant led to the recovery of mobile phones, laptops, cheque books of various bank accounts, and stamps. Upon appearance before the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), the petitioner’s statement was recorded, in which he admitted to operating bogus firms, issuing fake e-way bills, charging commission, and facilitating fake invoicing. Initially, a fraud involving ITC of ₹32 crore linked to four firms was detected, leading to the petitioner’s arrest under Section 69(1) of the CGST Act. Subsequent investigation revealed allegations of operation of 44 bogus firms, generation of goods-less invoices worth ₹2,106 crore, and facilitation of fake ITC amounting to ₹315.13 crore.
