The Maharashtra State Tax Department (Thane Zone) has arrested a Mira Road resident, Srikanth Vaidyanath, for allegedly generating and passing on fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth Rs 8.43 crore through a firm that investigators claim existed only on paper. The arrest was made by the State Tax Investigation Branch, Bhayandar.
Officials said Srikanth was listed as the proprietor of M/s Srikanth Enterprises, a firm suspected to be a shell entity. When officers visited its declared business address — C-118, Mira Darshan Complex, MTNL Road, Jangid Circle — they reportedly found no sign of commercial activity. The premises allegedly lacked basic business documentation, such as ledger books, invoices, stock registers, or inward–outward records, raising suspicion that the firm was created purely for bogus transactions.
According to the department, Srikanth obtained GST registration by submitting his PAN, Aadhaar, and electricity bill and completing OTP-based authentication on his mobile number. However, during physical verification, his family members — including his parents and wife — denied any knowledge of a business being run under his name.
The investigation further revealed that the accused allegedly availed fake ITC worth R8.43 crore from M/s Vishal Enterprises and then passed on the same ineligible credits to M/s Shree Kuldevi Industries Pvt Ltd between May and June 2025. The alleged transactions were carried out through bogus invoices and electronic entries, without any actual movement of goods or stock.
Srikanth was arrested on November 7 and produced before the court, which remanded him to judicial custody, officials confirmed. Investigators are now tracing money trails, other beneficiaries, and additional shell firms believed to be part of the fake ITC racket.
