Person Accused Of Passing Fake ITC Worth Rs. 199.31 Crores: Gauhati HC grants Anticipatory Bail [Read Order]
The court noted that the applicant had no connection with the firm, cooperated with the investigation, and had no criminal antecedents.
![Person Accused Of Passing Fake ITC Worth Rs. 199.31 Crores: Gauhati HC grants Anticipatory Bail [Read Order]](https://images.taxscan.in/h-upload/2025/10/25/2099757-person-passing-fake-itc-gauhati-hc-anticipatory-bail-taxscan.webp "Person Accused Of Passing Fake ITC Worth Rs. 199.31 Crores: Gauhati HC grants Anticipatory Bail [Read Order]")
The Gauhati High Court, anticipatory bail to the applicant, who was accused of passing fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth Rs. 199.31 crores through a fictitious firm.
Faiz Ahmed,applicant-assessee,filed the present application apprehending arrest after receiving a summon in connection with an FIR. lodged on 03.10.2024 by Inspector Sourav Kumar Pandey (Anti Evasion), CGST & CX Itanagar Commissionerate.
The FIR alleged that M/S Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants (GSTIN: 12OZYPS8590C1ZC) had fraudulently obtained a GST ID using a forged rent agreement, a fake judicial seal, and other forged documents, including Aadhar Card, PAN Card, and electricity bill.
The firm reportedly raised fake invoices worth approximately Rs. 658.25 Crores, resulting in a loss of about Rs. 99.31 Crores to the government. The case was registered as Itanagar P.S. Case No. 182/2024 under Sections 120B, 420, 467, 468, 471, 473, and 474 of the Indian Penal Code.
The applicant stated that he ran a small business, M/S National Power, in Howrah, West Bengal, with a valid GST ID and regular tax compliance. He had engaged Chartered Accountant Asis Kumar Jha in 2021 for filing income tax and GST returns and had taken a loan of Rs. 30,00,000/- from him.
After Asis Kumar Jha died in a road accident, the assessee continued repaying the loan to his widow. Later, Ashutosh Kumar Jha, a former employee of the late Asis Kumar Jha, took over his work and allegedly pressured the assessee for payment of the remaining loan, despite payments being made to the widow. During this time, the applicant communicated with Ashutosh Kumar Jha, who was one of the accused in the case and ran business under the name of M/S Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants.
The petitioner counsel submitted that the applicant had no connection with the business of M/S Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants, which was run by Ashutosh Kumar Jha. He stated that the applicant cooperated with the investigation as soon as he learned about the case and was unaware of any offences committed by Jha and his associates. He further submitted that the applicant feared arrest due to a perceived connection with Jha, had no criminal record, and requested pre-arrest bail.
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The Additional Public Prosecutor submitted that the applicant had appeared before the Investigating Officer on 20.10.2025, and his statement under Section 180 of BNSS, 2023 had been recorded. She noted that the statement matched the applicant’s bank transactions and WhatsApp communications with Jha.
She also stated that the main accused had already been granted bail as the charge-sheet was not filed within 90 days, and no further custodial interrogation of the applicant was required.
Justice Kardak Ete heard the counsel for both parties and reviewed the Case Diary. The court noted that interim bail had been granted to the applicant on 17.09.2025. Pursuant to this, the applicant appeared before the Investigating Officer on 20.10.2025, and his statement under Section 180 of BNSS, 2023 was recorded, which matched his bank records and WhatsApp communications with the main accused, Ashutosh Kumar Jha.
The investigation revealed that Ashutosh Kumar Jha and his associates had created a fictitious firm, M/S Siddhi Vinayak Trade Merchants, using forged documents including a fake judicial seal, Aadhaar, PAN Card, and electricity bills. Through the firm, fake Input Tax Credits worth Rs. 199.31 Crores were passed to 58 firms across 11 States using fabricated invoices totaling Rs. 658.88 Crores.
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Statements of CGST officers and other witnesses supported the allegations, and bank and call records implicated the main accused. The main accused had already been arrested and later released on bail as the charge-sheet was not filed within 90 days.
The court observed that the applicant had cooperated with the investigation, had no criminal antecedents, and his statement corroborated his records and communications with the main accused. Custodial interrogation was therefore not required.
The bench granted pre-arrest bail to applicant in connection with Itanagar P.S. Case No. 182/2024 under Sections 120B, 420, 467, 468, 471, 473, and 474 of the IPC and made the interim bail absolute on the same terms. The anticipatory bail application was disposed of.
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