Traders told to surrender fake sales tax forms

The Gujarat Sales Tax department has ordered traders to return all fake sales tax C and F forms to the department within a fortnight.

The department had unearthed a racket on February 7 which printed and distributed fake sales tax C and F forms from Ahmedabad.

The state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been handed over the case by the sales tax department.

"We have now issued a directive to traders that if any of them is in possession of such fake forms they must surrender them to the sales tax office. A fortnight's time has been given for this. If traders fail to do so, we will gradually track down the fake forms and initiate criminal action against the traders," said deputy commissioner of sales tax V M Sonawane.

The department is yet to ascertain how many fake forms are there in the market and how many of them are in the possession of traders.

While C forms are for those who want to sell their goods within the state or in other states and attract a sales tax of four per cent, form F forms are used by traders for transfer of consignment from one branch to another (within the state or outside) and attract no sales tax.

"We are not exactly sure how many forms were printed by Hitesh Choksi, with the help of his father. This is a matter of police investigation," said an official at the states sales tax department.

The sales tax department, in association with the state CID, had arrested Hitesh Choksi, a resident of the Raipur area of Ahmedabad, along with his father. Choksi was remanded to police custody, and later sent to judicial custody.

Possessing fake C and F forms is a crime under the Indian Penal Code.