Kanpur: A total of ₹177.45 crore cash has been recovered and seized from the premises of Kanpur’s Fragrance company promoter Piyush Jain, informed sources. “The counting of cash finished yesterday late at night. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, the apex body of investigation agency Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) who is conducting a search, called this the biggest cash seizure in history. DGGI Ahmedabad unit’s search on Trimurti Fragrance Pvt Ltd, Kanpur, manufacturers of Shikhar brand Pan Masala and Tobacco products is still on and the agency is evaluating the tax evasion by the parties who are under investigation.
The official further said that no arrests have been done so far and the search is still on in Kanpur and Kannauj. As per a top government source, the cash recovered from the search has been seized under the provisions of section 67 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act and deposited in the State Bank of India. “Most of the currency is of ₹500 denomination. Some are of ₹2000 denomination,” the top government source said. Further, the sources told that the cash recovered is a part of sales proceed and was secreted in the premises.
Currently, assorted tobacco items, pan masala are among the products that attract the highest GST rate of 28 per cent and also compensation. The rate of cess on tobacco products is ₹4,170 per 1,000 sticks or 290 per cent ad valorem, while that on pan masala is 135 per cent ad valorem. The DGGI team is evaluating the tax evasion figure by matching the sale of the pan masala. An amount of ₹3.09 crores has been recovered so far towards tax due with Trimurti Fragrance. The transporter has also admitted that goods were being transported without e-way bills under the cover of fake invoices. He also admitted that the sale proceeds were being collected in cash, to be handed over to the manufacturer,” the sources said. “An amount of ₹1.01 crores in cash has been seized from the possession of transporter. 4 such trucks outside the factory premises have been seized,’ they added.