Central GST field officers have unearthed tax evasion totaling a staggering Rs 7.08 lakh crore over the past five years (2020-21 to 2024-25), with input tax credit (ITC) fraud accounting for Rs 1.79 lakh crore, according to data presented in the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary.

In the 2024-25 fiscal year alone, CGST officers detected GST evasion worth Rs 2.23 lakh crore across 30,056 cases. Over half of these, 15,283 cases, involved ITC fraud amounting to Rs 58,772 crore. The previous fiscal year, 2023-24, saw Rs 2.30 lakh crore in GST evasion, including Rs 36,374 crore in ITC fraud. In 2022-23, evasion stood at Rs 1.32 lakh crore, with Rs 24,140 crore tied to fake ITC claims. For 2021-22 and 2020-21, GST evasion was Rs 73,238 crore and Rs 49,384 crore, respectively, with ITC frauds of Rs 28,022 crore and Rs 31,233 crore.

Over the five-year period, 91,370 cases of GST evasion were detected, with Rs 1.29 lakh crore recovered through voluntary deposits. ITC fraud alone spanned 44,938 cases, totaling Rs 1.79 lakh crore.

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To combat this, the central government and GST Network (GSTN) have implemented measures like E-invoicing, GST analytics, and risk-based scrutiny. “These steps are critical in protecting revenue and catching evaders,” Chaudhary stated in his written reply.

On net Central GST collections, Chaudhary noted that in 2024-25, collections reached Rs 10.26 lakh crore, achieving 96.7% of the Revised Estimates (RE) of Rs 10.62 lakh crore. In 2023-24, collections slightly exceeded RE, hitting Rs 9.57 lakh crore against an RE of Rs 9.56 lakh crore.

As the government ramps up efforts to curb tax evasion, these findings highlight the scale of the challenge and the ongoing push to strengthen compliance.

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