Authorities have expanded their probe into the alleged evasion of GST against fintech company BharatPe. An official said that the GST officials will now also check forged bills or challans issued by people close to ousted co-founder Ashneer Grover. The GST officers are examining the books of accounts of the company for the last four years. Through this they are trying to find out whether fake bills have been issued for services as well. BharatPe’s board of directors had removed former managing director Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain from all posts in the company after they were found guilty of alleged irregularities.
GST officials have been probing allegations against BharatPe for issuing bills without supply of any goods since last year. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) had conducted a search operation at the company’s head office in October last year. “Investigation is underway against the company for alleged evasion of GST by issuing challans without supply of goods,” an official said. After the recent allegations against Madhuri Jain, we are now also investigating the issue of fake bills without any service. Explain that the GST law allows the department to verify the accounts of any company for the last five years.
Ashneer Grover paid advance tax of more than seven crores
Former BharatPe MD Ashneer Grover has paid advance tax of 7.1 crores for the assessment year 2022-23. At the same time, his wife Madhuri Jain has paid advance tax of Rs 1.1 crore. Grover and his wife top the list of startup founders who pay the highest advance tax. In the assessment year 2021-22 also, both the husband and wife had paid the highest advance tax. However, when Grover’s response was sought in this regard, he did not respond.