Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion to the tune of ₹7.08 lakh crore has been detected in crackdowns carried out by tax officials in 91,370 cases during the last five financial years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, the Parliament was informed on Monday.&nbsp;
As much as ₹1.79 lakh crore of the evasion amount comprised ITC fraud in as many as 44,938 cases that were detected during the five years.&nbsp;
The amount of GST recovered during this five-year period by way of voluntary deposits stood at over ₹1.29 lakh crore. In financial year 2024-25, over ₹2.23 lakh crore of GST evasion was detected by CGST field officers, data tabled by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha showed.&nbsp;
Of the 30,056 cases of GST evasion detected in 2024-25, more than half, or 15,283 cases, were related to input tax credit (ITC) fraud, in which the amount involved was ₹58,772 crore.&nbsp;
In the financial year 2023-24, the GST evasion detected by tax officials added up to ₹2.30 lakh crore, of which ITC fraud comprised as much as ₹36,374 crore. Similarly, in 2023-24, around ₹1.32 lakh crore GST evasion was detected, which included ₹24,140 crore as ITC fraud.&nbsp;
In financial year 2022-23, the GST evasion detected stood at ₹73,238 crore, of which ITC fraud constituted ₹28,022 crore, while in 2021-22, the GST evasion amounted to ₹49,384 crore, while ITC fraud comprised ₹31,233 crore.&nbsp;
The minister also said that the net CGST collection was 96.7% of the revised estimate (RE) in the 2024-25 fiscal. 
"The Central government and GSTN are taking various steps to prevent tax evasion, such as digitisation through E-invoicing, GST analytics, highlighting of outliers based on system-flagged mismatches, providing actionable intelligence and selection of returns for scrutiny and selection of taxpayers for audit based on various risk parameters. These measures are helpful in safeguarding the revenue and nabbing the evaders," he said. 
Besides, certain projects were also undertaken, such as "Project Anveshan" (Analytics, Verification, Shortlisting of Anomalies) whereby newer techniques like Facial Recognition System (FRS), E-way bill data, etc., were used for early identification of GSTINs with propensity for fraudulent activity to generate Intelligence reports, he added.&nbsp;
&mdash;IANS

GST officials uncover massive tax fraud; ₹1.79 lakh crore ITC scams flagged since 2020

₹7.08 Lakh Cr GST Evasion Found in 5 Years

GST officials uncover massive tax fraud; ₹1.79 lakh crore ITC scams flagged since 2020

August 4, 2025 | 23:07 IST