Newsroom24x7 Network

Lucknow: The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested two Superintendents, an Inspector and a Tax Assistant, GST & Central Excise Division, GST Bhawan, Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh) on the charge of accepting a bribery of Rs. 25,000.

A case was registered on a complaint against two officials of CGST, Aligarh. The Complainant (an agent in LIC) had alleged that no firm in his name was ever registered with GST but he has been receiving continuous notices from CGST Department since the year 2021 wherein an amount of Rs. 1,70,981 was demanded. It was further alleged that when the Complainant met both the accused at CGST office in lieu of the notice, the accused demanded bribe of Rs. 30,000 to terminate the notice.

CBI laid a trap. The Tax Assistant working in CGST office obtained the bribe of Rs. 25,000 from Complainant and handed over the bribe to an Inspector. During investigation, two Superintendents, one Inspector and a Tax Assistant were caught and bribe was recovered. Searches were conducted at five locations including at Aligarh in the premises of accused. A cash of Rs. 500,000 (approx.) and some documents were found during searches.

Newsroom24x7 adds: The arrest of CGST officials on bribery charge in the above case could be the tip of the iceberg as this may not be a one off case. What cannot be ruled out is that this could be the modus operandi of corrupt officials across the country. What has been unearthed in this matter calls for proper vigilance, inspection, supervision and accountability at the senior-most level in CGST.