The Enforcement Directorate’s Chandigarh Zonal Office has provisionally attached 37 immovable properties valued at around Rs 17.16 crore in connection with a significant Value Added Tax (VAT) scam in Haryana’s Sirsa district. This attachment was carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The properties belong to Padam Bansal, Mahesh Bansal, and their family members, as stated in an official press release issued on December 24.
The Enforcement Directorate’s action stems from an investigation based on multiple FIRs filed by the Haryana Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, related to alleged fraudulent VAT refunds. The probe uncovered that numerous firms had claimed VAT refunds from the Excise and Taxation Department in Sirsa using bogus C-Forms. It was revealed that a syndicate allegedly led by Padam Bansal and Mahesh Bansal, in collaboration with their associates, established multiple firms in the names of unsuspecting individuals to carry out fraudulent transactions through their bank accounts.
According to the Enforcement Directorate, these firms engaged in fake interstate sales using forged C-Forms and, with the alleged involvement of officials from the Excise and Taxation Department in Sirsa, obtained fraudulent tax refunds totaling approximately Rs 4.41 crore. The scam is believed to have led to a total loss of about Rs 43.65 crore to the government exchequer, including tax dues, interest, penalties, and input tax credit.
The fraudulently obtained refunds were reportedly diverted to private firm accounts controlled by the accused and were used to acquire immovable assets in their names and those of their family members. These assets have now been seized as proceeds of crime. Further investigations are ongoing to trace additional proceeds of crime and identify all beneficiaries involved in the VAT scam across Sirsa and other districts of Haryana.
