An official said said on Wednesday that the CGST Bhiwandi, Thane unit has detained an Accounts and Finance Manager of Oppo Mobiles India Pvt. Ltd. for allegedly fraudulently claiming input tax credits worth Rs 19 crore on fictitious invoices from an illegitimate supplier.
The Oppo office was raided by the CGST investigators, who then brought the Manager, identified as Mahendra Kumar Rawat, before a court and had him held to detention till April 3.
CGST Act, 2017 Sections 69 and 132 have been invoked against Rawat based on his admissions of committing the violations.
Investigations by the CGST Bhiwandi Anti-Evasion Branch revealed that the Oppo Maharashtra was engaging in the fraudulent use of false ITCs obtained from Gain Hero India Pvt. Ltd., a fictitious (nonexistent) firm, without actually receiving any products.
16 e-way bills were checked by the investigators for the alleged transactions, which turned out to be false.
They also took down the testimonies of the drivers and owners of the vehicles, which showed that Oppo Maharashtra had not received any supplies of products. Dongguan, China serves as the worldwide headquarters for Oppo Mobiles.
According to the CGST, the manager Rawat, who is also the authorized signatory, has emerged as the key figure in the fraudulent ITC claim totaling more than Rs 19 crore against the invoices totaling more than Rs 107 crore sent by the fictitious supplier, Gain Hero India Pvt. Ltd, without receiving the goods.
According to the CGST Commissioner Bhiwandi, Sumit Kumar, this case was a result of a specific campaign against tax cheats and evaders undertaken by the Mumbai Zone that resulted in 24 arrests over the course of 18 months.
