The government has notified that there are 489 fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST) registrations associated with bogus PAN and Aadhaar details as of October this year. This problem has led to tax evasion of INR 3,000 crore, as revealed to Parliament on 15th December, 2025, Monday.
For fiscal year 2024-25, there were 3,977 fake GST registrations detected; they used fake PAN and Aadhaar, which led to an evasion of Rs 13,109 crore. 5,699 similar fake registrations were recognised in 2023-24 which resulting in tax evasion of Rs 15,085 crore, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary mentioned.
There are 16 individuals were arrested by GST officers from April to October this year. The arrests totalled 50 and 67, respectively, in FY 2024 and FY 2025.
For determining anomalies in digital information provided by the proprietorship firms at the time of GST registration, the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM) has started an exercise, Chaudhary notified.
DGARM focuses on determining risky taxpayers who set up for bogus invoicing and passing on ineligible GST ITC in the supply chain, he added.
For the periods 16 May 2023 to 14 August 2023 and 16 August 2024 to 30 October 2024, two special drives were launched all over the nation. Such initiatives of both Central and State tax authorities have the objective of coordinating efforts to fight bogus registrations and fake ITC claims.
“The drive against non-existent/ fake registrations involved physical verification of the business premises of the taxpayers by duly constituted teams of tax officials. During this special drive, non-existent GSTINs were identified and suspended/cancelled,” Chaudhary mentioned.
For processing of GST registration applications, biometric Aadhaar authentication, utilising data analytics and risk parameters, has been adopted in the nation.
Based on data analytics and risk parameters, all applications are assigned a risk rating generated by the system. Such ratings are given before CBIC field formations to ease the verification and processing of applications.
It is important to furnish the bank account details at the time of registration. The account needs to be in the registered person’s name, linked to their Permanent Account Number (PAN). Concerning proprietorship firms, the same needs to be connected with Aadhaar. Also, the bank details should be filed within 30 days of registration or before filing the outward supplier statement.
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The Provision is formed towards the system-based suspension of the registration of individuals who do not provide valid bank account details within the said duration. If returns are not submitted for 6 months, then the registrations are suspended by the system on the portal.
To prevent fraudulent registrations, the authenticity of documents provided as proof of address is verified using publicly accessible sources such as the websites of relevant authorities, land registries, electricity distribution companies, municipalities, and local organisations.
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