Govt says 55,813 cases of GST evasion worth Rs 1.6 lakh cr detected in last 3 years 7 months

New Delhi, Dec 9 (PTI) As many as 55,813 cases of Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion worth Rs 1,60,950 crore have been detected during last 3 years and seven months, Parliament was informed on Tuesday.

Cases of GST evasion (ITC frauds) have been detected where bogus or dummy entities were found to be used as fronts for fake invoicing, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

During the current financial year up to October, 24,109 cases of tax evasion having financial implication of Rs 41,664 crore have been detected, he said.

As many as 15,283 cases of Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud having financial implication of Rs 58,772 crore were detected by tax authorities during 2024-25, he said.

The government has taken several measures to prevent and tackle the cases of fake invoicing (ITC frauds), he said.

Electronic invoicing system (e-invoice) has been made mandatory for all B2B transactions for businesses with turnover exceeding Rs 5 crore and physical verification requirement in high-risk cases, even when Aadhaar has been authenticated are some of the measures taken by the government.

"Two special drives, respectively for the period 16.05.2023 to 14.08.2023 and 16.08.2024 to 30.10.2024, were launched on all-India basis, both by central as well as state tax administrations, for a concerted and coordinated action against fake registrations and fraudulent passing of ITC," he said.

The drive against non-existent/ fake registrations involved physical verification of the business premises of the taxpayers by duly constituted teams of tax officials, he said.

During this special drive, non-existent GSTINs were identified and suspended/cancelled, he added.

Replying to another question, Chaudhary said the GST reforms recommended by the 56th GST Council in its meeting held on September 3, 2025 aimed for a strategic, principled, and citizen-centric evolution of the tax framework.

Subsequent to rationalization of GST rates, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is monitoring the price of important commodities including packaged food items and medicines, pre and post September 22, 2025, to see that the benefits are duly passed on to end-consumers, he said.

From the inputs received in this regard, it is observed that these benefits have duly been passed on to end-consumers post GST rate reductions, he added. PTI DP ANU