Vizag trader evades tax worth Rs.2.6 crore, arrested under GST Act

Visakhapatnam: For the first time in AP, a trader has been arrested under the state GST Act in Vizag city for evasion of tax worth Rs.2.6 crore by raising fake bills. Duddu Sekhar, the proprietor of Sekhar Traders and Venkat Sai Traders, was arrested by the state tax officers.

The assistant commissioner and deputy assistant commissioner of SGST, Gajuwaka Circle in Vizag, and a team of officials under the guidance of the joint commissioner of the state, Vizag division arrested Duddu Sekhar. The officials said Sekhar had registered under the GST Act for an iron scrap business at Gajuwaka in Vizag city.

However, he misused online e-way bills for an amount of Rs. 14.4 crore and evaded tax of Rs. 2.6 crore. The entire transaction seems to be bogus as per the online e-way bill data they have supplied and received goods from the same dealers in Telangana. Sekhar committed an offense under the provisions of Section 132 of the SGST Act, 2017, and was arrested under Section 69 of the same.

The SGST officials produced Sekhar before the district sessions judge court and special economic offenses court in Vizag city on 18 February. The court ordered a judicial remand and Sekhar was sent to the Central prison in Vizag. The official said that further investigation is underway and action is being initiated to recover the tax money. The officials also noticed that a few more dealers are involved in the case and the total tax evaded is expected to be around Rs. 10 crore.