Three officials of Shemaroo Entertainment — CEO Hiren Gada, joint managing director Atul Maru, and CFO Amit Haria — were arrested on September 7 by the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) department for fraudulently claiming Input Tax Credit (ITC) of Rs. 70.25 crore. They were later released on bail.
The ITC was allegedly received on the basis of invoices without actual receipt of any goods/services. Jhaverchand Soni, partner of Shemaroo Entertainment, told officials that he was paid only for signing some documents. Soni explained that he and his wife had signed the documents while Atul Maru used to manage everything including operating his bank accounts.
Maru, Gada and Haria admitted that they availed of ITC without supply of any goods or services. The three were produced before the 19th metropolitan magistrate for remand.
The defence argued that the agency had illegally detained them for more than 24 hours without producing them in the court. The public prosecutor denied the allegation. The court denied their custody and allowed them to go.