Megha Engineering searched: Ludhiana unit of GST wing probes Megha, AMR

Hyderabad: In a top secret operation, personnel of the Director-General, GST, Intelligence, (DG-GI), Ludhiana, carried out searches on Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited (MEIL), and AMR India Limited, in an alleged ‘bogus invoice’ case worth several crores of rupees.

The officials arrived in Hyderabad on Tuesday and immediately carried out the searches that lasted the whole day.

The team also searched two other infrastructure companies whose names could not be confirmed.

No case has been booked as investigations are underway, a source said. The operation was kept under wraps and officials were briefed on a need-to- know basis.

An official said the DG-GI had received specific inputs alleging that these firms had raised bogus invoices to claim crores of rupees input tax credit under GST which had triggered the raids.

A highly-placed source told Deccan Chronicle, “The invoice is evidence of movement of goods. Based on these bills, companies claim input tax credit. Input credit means at the time of paying tax on sales, companies can reduce the tax they have already paid on purchases.”

He said fake bills are raised to evade GST. The inputs received against Megha and AMR Infra were on their alleged involvement in raising bogus invoices to claim tax credit worth crores, he said.

DG-GIs have power to search all across India
“This is a violation and punishable act under Section 132 of the CGST Act, 2018 and is liable for arrest under Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017. No case has been booked because the sleuths are trying to zero down on the chain of firms and middlemen through whom the fake invoices were raised,” the source explained.

Asked why the Ludhiana DG-GI had conducted the searches and not the Telangana state unit, the source said, “The DG-GI has jurisdiction across India. If inputs on fake invoices, tax evasion on goods and services are submitted to any DG- GI, irrespective of the state, the office is competent to act upon and book cases.”

MEIL, headed by P.V. Krishna Reddy, is an infrastructure major and has worked on the Kaleshwaram and Polavaram projects, and other dams, natural gas distribution networks, power plants and roads. Its longest-serving directors are Pitchi Reddy Pamireddy, Rama Reddy Pamireddy and Venkatakrishna Reddy Puritipati, who have been on the board for more than 13 years.

Mr Venkatakrishna Reddy Puritipati is on the board of 17 companies. MEIL is connected to 35 other companies across India through its directors.
AMR India Limited operates as a business conglomerate and the group is into mining, construction, infrastructure and energy sectors.

The company has five directors and two key management persons.