Tax evasion of Rs 8 cr found in paan masala smuggling case

Probe into an illegal paan masala trade racket has revealed that the accused, which include a Pakistani national, evaded GST of over Rs 8 crore, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Intelligence (DGGI) told a court on Wednesday. According to DGGI, Sanjay Matta, a Pakistani national who was arrested on June 2 for involvement in the case, was allegedly involved in tax evasion of Rs 8.04 crore and smuggling of paan masala to different states.

After his DGGI custody ended on Wednesday, he was produced before the court of special judge Vijendra Singh Rawat which sent him to a temporary jail under judicial custody till June 17. The jail was created because of COVID-19 scare, DGGIs special public prosecutor Chandan Airen said. Matta was living with his family in Indore.

The agency seized paan masala of different brands and Rs 66.47 lakh cash during the probe. The illegal trade was going on even during the COVID-19-induced nationwide lockdown, sources said. One of the main suspects who is absconding is also a Pakistani national. Further probe is on.