The Visakhapatnam zonal unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has arrested Eliyaz Basha in connection with a fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket worth ₹19.79 crore, officials said on Tuesday. According to DGGI sources, Basha allegedly operated through a Hindupur-based firm, M/s Dawood Hardware & Cements, reportedly owned by his brother. The accused is said to have issued fake invoices without any physical supply of goods, allowing multiple recipient entities to claim ITC fraudulently, in clear violation of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Basha was produced before the Court of Economic Offences and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhitha (BNSS) 2023. Investigators are continuing to probe the network of recipient entities that may have benefited from the fraudulent transactions. Officials believe that the case could reveal a wider web of firms involved in similar tax evasion practices. A DGGI official told The Coastal Times that this is the second arrest by the Visakhapatnam unit in the 2026-27 fiscal year. “The first arrest of this cycle was T. Venkata Swaroop Kumar, announced on April 2. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, the unit arrested eight individuals and detected GST fraud exceeding ₹352 crore,” the official said. The DGGI has called for heightened vigilance among businesses and urged firms to ensure proper documentation of transactions to avoid falling prey to or inadvertently participating in fraudulent ITC claims. The agency also confirmed that further action would be taken against all entities found complicit in the scheme.
News Visakhapatnam

DGGI arrests man in ₹19.79 crore fake ITC case

The Coastal Times

The Visakhapatnam zonal unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has arrested Eliyaz Basha in connection with a fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) racket worth ₹19.79 crore, officials said on Tuesday.

According to DGGI sources, Basha allegedly operated through a Hindupur-based firm, M/s Dawood Hardware & Cements, reportedly owned by his brother. The accused is said to have issued fake invoices without any physical supply of goods, allowing multiple recipient entities to claim ITC fraudulently, in clear violation of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Basha was produced before the Court of Economic Offences and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarika Suraksha Sanhitha (BNSS) 2023. Investigators are continuing to probe the network of recipient entities that may have benefited from the fraudulent transactions. Officials believe that the case could reveal a wider web of firms involved in similar tax evasion practices.

A DGGI official told The Coastal Times that this is the second arrest by the Visakhapatnam unit in the 2026-27 fiscal year. “The first arrest of this cycle was T. Venkata Swaroop Kumar, announced on April 2. In the 2025-26 fiscal year, the unit arrested eight individuals and detected GST fraud exceeding ₹352 crore,” the official said.

The DGGI has called for heightened vigilance among businesses and urged firms to ensure proper documentation of transactions to avoid falling prey to or inadvertently participating in fraudulent ITC claims. The agency also confirmed that further action would be taken against all entities found complicit in the scheme.

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