Bail denied

Businessman Yogesh Jagdish Kanodia has not been able to wriggle out of the net by pleading that four firms under him were separate legal entities and hence the fraudulent input tax credit claims made by them could not be clubbed to meet the threshold of ₹5 crore for arrest. The State of Maharashtra believes Kanodia claimed ITC worth ₹11.54 crore through fake invoices. When he was arrested, he approached the Bombay High Court pleading to be let out on bail.

Judges S S Shinde and Manish Pitale shook their heads. “In tax frauds, the modus operandi of creating fictitious entities to get around the rigour of law is not unknown,” they observed. The Special Public Prosecutor had also placed on record how the vehicles used for transport of goods as claimed by petitioner never actually transported such goods. “Surprisingly, the material indicates that such volumes of goods were transported on two-wheelers.” As such, “the contention raised on behalf of the petitioner regarding non-availability of provision in the CGST Act for clubbing the wrongful activities of distinct legal persons, by relying upon certain provisions of the Income Tax Act and other legislation, cannot hold water,” the judges said, refusing to grant Kanodia bail.

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