The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is investigating a ₹100 crore Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund fraud, conducting raids at seven locations in Bihar and Jharkhand. The investigation focuses on the alleged fraudulent acquisition of tax refunds through the submission of fake export bills. Five customs officials are implicated in the investigation, including Patna’s Additional GST Commissioner Ranvijay Kumar.
The CBI carried out raids in Patna, Purnea, Jamshedpur, Nalanda, and Munger. The agency seized assets during the raids, including seven gold biscuits weighing a total of 100 grams.
The fraud was detected due to an unusual increase in exports of tiles and automobile parts to Nepal from the Jaynagar, Bhimnagar, and Bhittamore Land Customs Stations (LCS) during the financial year 2022-23. This atypical activity prompted a detailed investigation.
Preliminary findings indicate that around 30 exporters unlawfully obtained GST refunds by presenting forged export documents from these three border customs stations. The exporters reportedly submitted export bills valued under ₹10 lakh to circumvent higher-level approvals.
The CBI’s FIR alleges that customs superintendents Neeraj Kumar and Manmohan Sharma from Jaynagar, Tarun Kumar Sinha and Rajiv Ranjan Sinha from Bhimnagar, along with Additional Commissioner Ranvijay Kumar, were directly involved in the scam. These officials are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for approving fraudulent bills, which enabled exporters to receive significant GST refund benefits. A Kolkata-based clearing agent named Ganga Singh is also implicated as a key conspirator.
The CBI discovered that officials fabricated approximately ₹800 crore in exports, including items subject to 28% and 18% GST, resulting in fraudulent refunds totaling around ₹100 crore.
The investigation revealed that 4,161 e-way bills were submitted to show exports that involved vehicles such as two-wheelers, buses, and even ambulances, but none of these vehicles matched the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) database.
The CBI alleges that Additional Commissioner Ranvijay Kumar deliberately ignored the unusual surge in exports and provided verbal instructions to subordinate officers to approve the LEO (Let Export Order). It is alleged that he, either directly or through clearing agent Ganga Singh, supplied fraudulent shipping details.
The CBI’s actions have exposed a network involving customs officials and private exporters who exploited the system to steal tax revenue.