Mumbai Woman Duped Through Rs 7 Crore GST Fraud After Sharing Credentials

A Mumbai woman, running a catering business, allegedly became the victim of a GST fraud after sharing sensitive business credentials with a man who had promised financial help and assistance in securing a business loan.

According to police, the accused, identified as Bharat Singh alias Johnny, allegedly used complainant Sonia Ambavat’s GST login credentials, OTP details and linked SIM card to create fake invoices and fraudulent transactions amounting to nearly Rs 7 crore in her company’s name.

The case, registered at the Bangur Nagar Police Station, Mumbai, comes amid a sharp rise in fake GST invoicing and input tax credit (ITC) fraud cases being detected across the country.

How The Alleged Fraud Unfolded

The police said, Sonia Ambavat, a resident of Malad, had started a catering business with her husband, Anil Ambavat. In June 2025, Anil reportedly introduced her to Singh, who claimed he could arrange a business loan and help the family set up a food truck business.

After Anil’s death in October last year, Singh allegedly remained in regular contact with the family and gained their trust by offering support for household expenses and school fees for their child.

Singh later collected the company’s GST certificate, login credentials, OTP details and the SIM card linked to the GST account. Sonia reportedly became suspicious after receiving a notification stating that the GST account password had been changed.

Further inquiry revealed that fake invoices and fraudulent business transactions had been generated in the company’s name, resulting in a GST liability of nearly Rs 7 crore. Police said the transactions were linked to bank accounts in Visakhapatnam.

Fake GST Invoicing Cases Rise

The issue of fake invoicing and false input tax credit (ITC) claims was recently raised in the Rajya Sabha.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, on December 9, 2025, informed the House that GST authorities had detected 24,109 fake invoicing cases involving suspected ITC fraud worth Rs 41,664 crore during FY26 till October 2025.

Government data showed that authorities detected 7,231 cases involving suspected false invoicing worth Rs 24,140 crore in FY23. The number rose to 9,190 cases involving Rs 36,374 crore in FY24.

In FY25, fake invoicing cases increased sharply to 15,283, with the detection amount rising to Rs 58,772 crore.

The government also acknowledged that bogus or dummy entities were being used as fronts for fake invoicing. Authorities flagged concerns regarding dormant or “sleeping” companies and inactive pharmaceutical firms allegedly being used for GST evasion and fraudulent ITC claims.

Data shared in Parliament showed that central tax formations detected three pharma-related GST fraud cases worth Rs 31.71 crore in FY23, two cases worth Rs 5 crore in FY25 and two more cases worth Rs 7.25 crore in FY26 till October.

Government Steps To Curb Fraud

The Finance Ministry commented in the same parliament reply that measures such as mandatory invoice matching through GSTR-1 and GSTR-2B, e-invoicing for businesses with turnover above Rs 5 crore, OTP-based PAN verification, biometric Aadhaar authentication and geo-tagging of business premises have been introduced to curb fake invoicing.

Authorities also carried out nationwide anti-fraud drives between May 16-August 14, 2023 and August 16-October 30, 2024, during which non-existent GST registrations were identified and suspended or cancelled.

FAQs

1. What is fake GST invoicing fraud?
   Fake GST invoicing involves generating bogus bills or transactions to wrongly claim ITC or evade taxes without actual business activity.

2. Why should businesses protect GST login credentials?
   GST IDs, passwords and OTPs can be misused to create fake transactions, generate tax liabilities and carry out fraudulent invoicing in a company’s name.

3. What steps can help prevent GST fraud?
   Businesses should avoid sharing GST credentials, regularly monitor filings and invoice records, and immediately report suspicious activity or unauthorised access.