The new Aadhaar scam was divulged by the Gujarat State Goods and Services Tax (GST) department, in which 1500 cards were fraudulently exploited to generate false GST numbers over the course of the previous eight months.
470 GST registrations obtained using this unauthorised method were discovered, the department claimed. Among them, Gujarat accounted for 118 registrations, with the leftover registrations hailed from other states.
In the course of operations an android mobile application was used to replicate documents like Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) cards, it was discovered during operations performed by over 75 firms in Surat. The department stated that this is a new method to get fake GST numbers.
The verification of 75 Surat-based companies found that 61 of them were engaged in deceptive billing practises. 12 out of the 24 verified firms in Ahmedabad were found to be operating illegally.
Most importantly, the Aadhaar holder was unaware of the GST registration and PAN number that had been obtained in their name by changing the mobile number associated with their Aadhaar.
The GST department found that in the name of government assistance, they were taken to Aadhaar centres at Palitana and their thumb impressions were taken. The department seized all electrical devices from the Palitana Aadhaar Centers, including laptops and mobile phones.
The 48th GST Council proposed to conduct a pilot in the State of Gujarat for Biometric-based Aadhaar authentication and risk-based physical verification of registration applicants, also reported by Taxscan.
This implies that the council had already proposed a solution and that the government was already aware that something fraudulent was going on in Gujarat in relation to the fictitious GST registration. However, as technical knowledge advances, it becomes possible to breach any security barriers put in place by the government.
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