Thane, May 12 (PTI) A 60-year-old businessman from Maharashtra's Thane city was allegedly duped of Rs 4.5 crore by a man who carried out transactions through his company and evaded payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST), police said on Monday.

Based on a complaint, the police registered a case under sections 318(4) (cheating), 336 (forgery) and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and IT Act against the accused, identified as Salman, an official said.

He said the accused offered to purchase the complainant's company in December 2024 and obtained documents of his firm, its GST number and password.

The official said the accused subsequently changed the complainant's login details in the GST file and the email ID and mobile number linked with his GST account.

"With the help of fake and fabricated documents, Salman made business transactions amounting to Rs 25 crore in the name of the victim's company and evaded the payment of GST amounting to Rs 4.5 crore," the official said.

He said a probe is underway, and no arrest has been made. PTI COR ARU

GST fraud via account takeover results in criminal charges for cheating, forgery and related IT offences. A businessman's GST credentials and company documents were obtained and misused to change account login and contact details; using fabricated documents the accused conducted transactions in the firm's name and allegedly evaded payment of GST, prompting criminal charges for cheating, forgery and related IT offences and an ongoing police investigation.