Commercial tax official under DVAC scanner

CHENNAI: The city unit of the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption is probing an assistant working at the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Zone-III, Commercial Tax Department, Chennai, who allegedly favoured some businessmen in the matters of registration, return filing, e-way bill creation, besides causing loss to the government exchequer to the tune of more than Rs 5 crore.

The accused official, now under suspension, has been identified as G Iyyanar. Other suspects are Ranveer Singh, who runs Surya Metals in Broadway; Mohammed Mansoor Dhinojwala, owner of Mercury Trading and CSK trading Co, Angappa Naicken Street; and Sampath, proprietor of Sri Magima Traders in Kannnamapet.

In its FIR, the agency said Dhinojwala was engaged in issuing invoices without the supply of goods and passing on input tax credit to the beneficiaries. This has resulted in loss of government revenue to the tune of Rs 5.03 crore from January 2020 to February 2022.

Iyyanar allegedly colluded with Dhinojwala to create forged inward bills as if they received supply of goods and used bills as genuine. They then adjusted it with the input tax credit by filing the monthly return from January 2020 to February 2022.

In the case of Surya Metals, which has reported outward supply of goods in nine transactions totaling to a sum of Rs 78.75 lakh, the firm was supposed to pay Rs 14.02 lakh as taxes. Instead, the firm had adjusted the entire tax liability by creating forged inward bills as if it had received supply goods. With Iyyanar’s help, it adjusted the amount with their input tax credit, thus causing a loss of Rs 14 lakh to the government coffer.