Govt Identifies 1,474 ‘Risky’ Exporters Who Made Fraudulent Claims Of Rs 2020 Crore

New Delhi: The Union government has promised stern action against 1474 exporters, who have fraudulently claimed Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) refund worth Rs 2,020 crore.

The finance ministry has identified these ‘risky’ exporters, some of whom enjoy a star rating, according to a senior official. The fraudulent claims were revealed during a verification exercise which found these exporters untraceable, reported Hindustan Times. Their refund claims have been blocked.

“Out of the 1474 untraceable exporters, 1125 exporters are from Delhi alone. Non-existing exporters have also been detected in large numbers at Surat (215), Thane (28), Faridabad (15) and Kolkata (11),” the official said.

It was found that these exporters were engaged in dealing with a wide range of products including readymade garments, wallpaper, wall coverings, leather apparel, smoking pipes, mobile phones, cigarette holders, footwear, plastics, floor coverings, ball bearings and roller bearings.