Prem Sundar Chaudhary Vs Union of India (Patna High Court)
Patna High Court granted bail to petitioner accused in GST evasion case since arrest was made on the basis of suspicion and guidelines of Ministry of Finance GST Investigation not followed.
Facts- The petitioner has prayed for regular bail in a case registered for the offence punishable u/s. 132(1) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act (CGST), 2017 under Clause(a) or Clause (b) or Clause(c) or Clause (d) of the said section 132(5).
The case of the prosecution is that Senior Intelligence Officer of Directorate General of GST Intelligence Zonal Unit, Patna made complaint before the Special Judge Economic Offence, Patna on 23.08.2024 alleging therein that iron scrap and miscellaneous scrap have been transported by way of vehicle using fake Invoices, e-way bill from Bihar to Punjab. It is further alleged that various fake suppliers firms were created for generation of e-way bills for the purpose of supplying of goods to the recipients located at Punjab. Further allegation is that on search at the residence of the petitioner, four mobile, one laptop and some documents and invoices were recovered and seized. On scrutiny it was found that ten firms engaged in issuance of fake invoices along with e-way bill were indulged. It is further alleged that statement of the petitioner u/s. 17 of the CGST Act was recorded and it was found M/s Neha Enterprises and M/s Mr. Enterprises were run by him and he handled all the legal activities personally through mobile using whatsapp. Further allegation is that petitioner has caused loss of more than rupees thirty three crores of the revenue of the governments.
