AHMEDABAD: The investigation by the state goods and services tax (SGST) department in the recently busted Rs 4,120 crore fake billing scam has found that data of 1,545 Aadhaar cards had been illegally modified. 

These cards were then used to obtain 2,721 GST registrations. Of these registrations, 1,662 or about 61% were based in Gujarat.

About 10 days ago, GST officials raided an Aadhaar Centre at Palitana, where it was found that the data of some 1,545 Aadhaar cards had been compromised, by modifying the mobile number linked to the cards. These cards were then used to obtain GST registrations. Some 1,763 phone numbers were traced by SGST officials in connection with this. 

“Some 548 of these GST registrations had already been cancelled by the SGST department for fake billing. The remaining 1,114 registrations are under scrutiny. We suspect that at least 35% of these registrations are bogus. The true number will be clear once the investigation is complete,” said a source privy to the developments. 

From November to February 20, the department unearthed 663 fake GST registrations and cancelled them. These GST numbers were used to generate fake bills worth Rs 14,596 crore, to evade taxes amounting to Rs 1,140 crore. 

The modus operandi of using fudged Aadhaar data to obtain GST registrations was uncovered in this scam. 

The scam surfaced as SGST officials carried out spot verifications of businesses in Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar and Rajkot. During the investigation of what turned out to be a Rs 4,120 crore fake billing scam, a mismatch in locations on GST registration and Aadhaar data was found and after which the department raided the Aadhaar Centre in Palitana. 

The department is probing the matter and more raids on Aadhaar centres are expected.