GST scam: Fake firms generating fake input tax credit busted, 4 held

Lucknow: In a crackdown on GST fraud, a joint team of the Cyber Cell, Surveillance Unit and police from Lucknow's Itaunja busted an organised racket that created more than 15 bogus firms to generate and sell fake Input Tax Credit (ITC), causing a tax loss of over Rs 2.75 crore. Four accused were arrested, while the alleged mastermind, Ammar Ansari of Sitapur, remains absconding. Police said Ansari was earlier jailed in a GST fraud case and was the key operator who handled registrations and ITC generation.DCP (Crime) Kamlesh Dixit said the gang targeted poor and financially vulnerable individuals, offering them Rs 10,000–Rs 20,000 in exchange for copies of their Aadhaar cards, PAN cards, bank account details, mobile numbers and address proofs.
"Using these documents, the accused prepared forged rent agreements to obtain GST registrations in the names of non-existent firms. Once registered, these shell entities generated bogus ITC through fake GST returns (GSTR-1) and created fabricated invoices and e-way bills to show fictitious transactions in aluminium scrap, ferrous waste, iron, steel, tubes and pipes. The fake ITC was then sold to genuine businesses at a 1% commission, enabling them to illegally offset their tax liabilities," added the DCP.The racket came to light after Abhimanyu Pathak, assistant commissioner, State Tax (Division-16, Lucknow), lodged a complaint on September 2, 2025, against Swaraj Traders."The probe revealed that Swaraj Traders did not exist physically but fraudulently generated and sold bogus ITC worth Rs 52 lakh during FY 2024-25," said the DCP. Further scrutiny uncovered a larger network of fake firms operating on similar lines.The key players who were arrested included Tabassum alias Gulchaman alias Janhvi Singh, a Kanpur resident; Prashant Benjwal, a 30-yr-old Kanpur native; Sumit Saurabh, 35, a Lucknow-based businessman; and Daulat Ram, 50, a Kanpur-based factory worker.Ammar Ansari, believed to be the operational head who managed GST registrations and ITC generation, is currently on the run. Police teams are conducting raids at multiple locations to trace him.Police described the case as one of the biggest organised GST fraud busts in the region in recent months.