The Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities in India have taken a major step against tax fraud by arresting Jitendra Kumar Chaurasia, a businessman accused of siphoning off around ₹450 crore in GST payments. The investigation, led by the Kolkata GST office, traced a fraud network that stretched from Jammu and Kashmir to the capital of West Bengal.
Chaurasia and his two private companies were set up to sell “nicotine‑like substances.” The authorities say the firms were nothing more than shell companies fueled by fake invoices, bills and documents. GST officials monitored the companies and discovered that, from 2021 to 2025, the businesses processed more than ₹580 crore in supplies—₹433 crore through one company and ₹147 crore through the other. After arguing that the Punjabi license had been cancelled and then reinstated, Chaurasia moved his operations to Kolkata. The Kasba GST office filed a complaint claiming that the companies were fronts for tax evasion and that the fake paperwork was used to dodge GST.
When GST officers summoned the businessman, they shown him bank account statements and records of the shell companies. Unable to explain the discrepancies, he was detained on Tuesday. The next day, he appeared before an Alipore court where his lawyer, Sanjay Dasgupta, applied for bail. Dasgupta argued that the Jammu and Kashmir authorities had first cancelled and then returned Chaurasia’s license, claiming the Kolkata case was wrong. The counsel for the GST authorities rejected the bail request, and the judge remanded Chaurasia in judicial custody until November 26.
Investigators continue to examine the documents seized from the companies and are looking into additional fronts used to launder the money. The case serves as a warning to companies that use fake paperwork to evade India’s GST system.
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