The state Goods and Services Tax (GST) department, with the help of the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS), arrested the chairman of a Bhavnagar-based firm on Wednesday in a case of using fake invoices worth Rs 762 crore to claim fraudulent input tax credit worth Rs 137 crore.
The state GST department sought the help of the ATS to apprehend Nilesh Patel, the chairman of Bhavnagar-based Madhav Copper Ltd, who had previously eluded arrest after hitting a vehicle of GST officials when they attempted to apprehend him.
According to the report, he was accused of causing a loss to the state treasury by issuing Rs 762 crore in fake invoices in order to receive Rs 137 crore in fraudulent input tax credit.
The state GST department discovered the fraud in July of last year and arrested several people, while Patel remained at large, as per the report.
His assets were seized, and a court issued summonses against him, which he ignored, according to the release.
The businessman eluded capture during an earlier attempt to apprehend him on February 20, 2022, according to the GST department.
The department then approached the ATS, which arrested him from Ahmedabad.
In raids conducted last year in the company’s premises, offices and residences of its directors, the state GST had seized several incriminating documents, including digital data.
The Supreme Court had on February 11, 2022, dismissed Patel’s anticipatory bail plea and granted him one week protection from arrest.
A sessions court had also rejected his request for regular bail.
When state GST officials attempted to arrest him earlier, he escaped after colliding with their vehicle and injuring an official. According to the report, he was then charged with obstructing the work of government officials.