Govt recovers Rs 5,716cr in GST evasion cases

New Delhi: As many as 2,784 cases of GST evasion involving Rs14,302 crore were detected in the first two months of the current fiscal, while Rs5,716 crore was recovered during the period, Parliament was informed on Monday.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply in the Lok Sabha gave details of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Income-Tax (I-T) evasion, as well as detection of outright smuggling by the Customs department. As per the data, GST evasion of over Rs2.68 lakh crore was detected in 43,516 cases between 2020-21 and 2023-24 (April-May). A recovery of Rs76,333 crore was made during the period while 1,020 persons were arrested. In the current fiscal (April-May), 2,784 cases of evasion of Rs 14,302 crore were detected.

As many as 28 persons were arrested and Rs5,716 crore recovered during the period. As per the statistics on surveys, searches and seizures carried out by the Income-Tax (I-T) Department in the last five years, searches were conducted on 3,946 groups while assets worth Rs6,662 crore was seized. In 2022-23 fiscal alone, 741 groups were searched and Rs1,765.56 crore assets were seized.