Business / 1.63 lakh GST registrations cancelled in two months

New Delhi: In one of the biggest crackdowns on fake firms, fly-by-night operators, and circular trading entities, the government has cancelled 1.63 lakh registrations in the month of October and November alone.

These entities had not filed GST returns for more than six months, sources in the Department of Revenue (DoR) said.

Meanwhile, within one month of its nationwide drive launched in the second week of November against GST fake invoice frauds, the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) and CGST Commissionerates have so far arrested 132 persons including four chartered accountants and a woman for availing or passing on ineligible ITC fraudulently and have booked 1,430 cases against more than 4,586 fake GSTIN entities identified across the country.

Sources said that the fourth chartered accountant Akshay Jain was arrested from Visakhapatnam for involving in issuing of fake ITC to the tune of Rs 20.97 crore on the invoices of cement by creating 14 fake firms without the supply of goods. The investigation is on.

DoR sources said that all these GSTIN entities who had not filed their GSTR-3B returns for more than six months were first issued the cancellation notices and then their registrations were cancelled.

Sources said that 28,635 taxpayers who have not filed their GSTR-3B returns for more than six months have been identified and the GST Commissionerates have been directed to initiate suo-moto cancellation process in these cases.

In Ahmedabad zone, a total of 11,048 GST registrations were cancelled and in Chennai 19,586 suo-moto cancellations have been done so far in respect of GST taxpayers who have failed to file returns for more than six months.