Thane, Dec 21 (PTI) A case has been registered against four persons in Maharashtra's Thane district for allegedly creating fake GST-registered firms and claiming input tax credit of more than Rs 22.06 crore, police said on Sunday.

Based on a complaint lodged by an official from the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) department, the police in Kalyan on Thursday registered a case against Nikhil Gaikwad, owner of Dynamic Enterprises, Noor Mohammad Vasim Pinjari, Navnath Sukrya Gharat, and an individual identified as Sarfaraj, and a few others.

"Between April and August this year, the accused prepared false documents for a company by submitting this false information to the government and obtained a registration certificate under the GST Act," an official from the MFC police station said.

The accused allegedly created eight fake companies and managed to claim Rs 22.06 crore in ITC, he said.

The accused have been booked under sections 111 (organised crime), 316 (criminal breach of trust), 318 (cheating), and 320 (dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property), alongside relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, but no arrests have been made so far, the official said. PTI COR ARU

GST fraud: four individuals booked for creating fake firms and claiming over Rs 22.06 crore in input tax credit. A complaint alleges four persons created eight fictitious GST-registered firms between April and August, submitted false documents to obtain registrations, and claimed about Rs 22.06 crore in input tax credit; they have been booked under offences for organised crime, criminal breach of trust, cheating, dishonest removal or concealment of property, and relevant GST Act provisions, and the investigation remains ongoing.