CBI Uncovers ₹100 Cr GST Refund Scam Involving Senior Customs Officials and Fake Export Bills
During the raids, officials recovered seven gold bars (each weighing 100 grams), mobile phones, and incriminating documents linked to the scam
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has unearthed a massive ₹100 crore scam involving fraudulent GST refund claims made through fake export bills. The scam, allegedly orchestrated in connivance with senior Customs officials, private agents, and over two dozen firms, revolved around bogus exports of tiles and automobile spare parts to Nepal.
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The central agency launched searches on Friday across seven locations in Bihar and Jharkhand including Patna, Purnea, Jamshedpur, Nalanda, and Munger. During the raids, officials recovered seven gold bars (each weighing 100 grams), mobile phones, and incriminating documents linked to the scam.
As per the FIR, the key accused include Ranvijay Kumar, the then Additional Commissioner of Customs, Patna, and four former Superintendents, some of whom are currently serving as Assistant Commissioners. The FIR also names Neeraj Kumar and Manmohan Sharma (Jaynagar LCS), and Tarun Kumar Sinha and Rajeev Ranjan Sinha (Bhimnagar LCS) for their alleged roles in clearing fake export consignments in exchange for bribes.
The CBI said the officials conspired with a Kolkata based clearing agent, Ganga Singh, along with at least 30 exporter and 23 importer firms, to fraudulently claim GST refunds by showing fake exports through the Land Customs Stations (LCS) at Bhimnagar, Jaynagar, and Bhittamore during 2022 to 2023.
Investigations revealed that the accused raised thousands of forged shipping bills, most valued below ₹10 lakh, the threshold for clearance by a Superintendent, to bypass scrutiny. In total, 4161 E way bills were issued using vehicles such as two wheelers, ambulances, and buses, none of which matched the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) border crossing database.
Officials claimed these bogus exports, valued around ₹800 crore and involving high GST rate goods (18 percent and 28 percent), were used to wrongfully claim input tax credit refunds of nearly ₹100 crore from jurisdictional GST offices as reported by Hindustan Times.
The CBI also highlighted that many of the firms involved did not operate from their registered addresses and that oral instructions were allegedly given by Ranvijay Kumar to process Let Export Orders without proper verification. He is also suspected of facilitating fake export clearances via clearing agent Ganga Singh and the G-card holder.
A case has been registered under sections related to criminal conspiracy and corruption, and the investigation is ongoing to trace the money trail and identify the full extent of the network as reported by NDTV.
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