Question : GST Frauds

(a) whether there is a spate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) frauds in the country and several people have been arrested for allegedly issuing fake invoices to claim input tax credit under GST and if so, the details thereof;
(b) whether according to RBI, an amount of about Rs. 71,500 Crore has been marked in over 6800 bank fraud cases, in the fiscal year 2018-19 and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the details of steps taken by the Government to strengthen monitoring tools to prevent GST evasion?

MINISTER OF FINANCE
(SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

(a) Yes, Sir. Cases of fake invoice(s) involving fraudulent Input Tax Credit in GST, have been booked by Central GST authorities, the details are as under:-
S.No. Period/Financial Year No. of Cases Amount (Rs. In Crore) No of persons arrested
1 2017-18
(01.07.2017 to 31.03.2018) 5 12.67 2
2 2018-19 1620 11251.23 154
3 2019-20 (till 25.06.2019) 535 2565.40 40

(b) Yes, Sir. As per RBI, an amount of Rs.71,542.94 Crore was involved in total 6,801 cases, in frauds (Rs. one lakh and above) in the fiscal year 2018-19, the details are as under:-
Year-wise breakup of frauds reported in 2018-19 based on their year of occurrence. (Category-Fraud with amount involved in Rs. 1 Lakh and above)
Year No. of Frauds Amount involved (Rs. In Crore)
Before 2009-10 179 4472.69
2009-10 67 3224.15
2010-11 93 3458.32
2011-12 112 5165.67
2012-13 197 6708.28
2013-14 291 7477.37
2014-15 413 9484.60
2015-16 535 9890.84
2016-17 699 7679.32
2017-18 1379 7247.08
2018-19 2836 6734.60
Grand Total 6801 71542.94

(c) Various measures have been taken to prevent GST evasion, A specialized Directorate within the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) which is engaged in Data Analytics & Risk Management disseminates analytical reports and intelligence inputs to field formations of CBIC for the purpose of scrutiny, audit and enforcement, to prevent GST evasion. The GST Council has also approved the use of e-invoicing in B2B transactions.