In a significant crackdown on tax fraud, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against the then Additional Commissioner of Customs, Patna, and 29 others, including Customs officials and private exporters, for allegedly claiming bogus GST refunds worth nearly ₹100 crore using fake export bills.
As part of the probe, the CBI conducted searches at seven locations across Patna (2), Purnea (2), Jamshedpur, Nalanda, and Munger, which led to the seizure of seven 100-gram gold bars, incriminating documents, and mobile phones, a statement issued by the agency said.
The FIR alleges that a criminal conspiracy was hatched between then Customs Superintendents at LCS Bhimnagar and Jaynagar, now serving as Assistant Commissioner, Customs, and various G-Card holders, exporters, and 23 importer firms. Together, they allegedly faked the export of tiles and automobile parts through Land Customs Stations (LCS) at Bhimnagar, Jaynagar, and Bhittamore to falsely claim GST refunds.
According to the CBI, the officials misused their positions to improperly facilitate the fraudulent transactions, resulting in wrongful gains for private entities and corresponding losses to the government exchequer. The public servants were allegedly promised or offered undue advantages for enabling the scam. Further investigation is ongoing. (KDC)
