Hoteliers in Gujarat Ki Aankho Ka Tara Saputara cheat tourists, indulge in massive GST evasion

By TBT Web Desk On Sep 6, 2022

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Surat (Gujarat) [India]: Amitabh Bachchan’s advertising of Gujarat’s sole hill station, ‘Gujarat Ki Aankho Ka Tara, Saputara,’ drew thousands of tourists from Gujarat and neighboring regions. Interestingly, hoteliers in Saputara hill station are implicated in major Goods and Service Tax (GST) cheating, incurring lakhs of rupees in losses to the government exchequer.

The State GST (SGST) department swooped down on more than 14 hoteliers in and around Saputara following the inputs on their involvement in the large-scale GST evasion for the last few years. The GST officials are believed to have seized a massive amount of documentary evidence during the search operation in the Saputara hotels regarding the huge amount of GST evasion by the hotel owners.

Over 30 officials from the SGST department swooped down in Saputara and conducted a search operation in about 14 hotels operated by private players. The tax evaders would collect GST from the tourists and the amount was not deposited with the government’s exchequer.

Sources said the GST officials found that the hotels were not maintaining the accounts i.e the check-in and check-out details of their customers, food bills, etc. However, they were issuing fake GST bills to pocket the money.

Saputara has emerged as the tourist hotspot following the Gujarat Government’s publicity campaign in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, and other important states to attract tourists. Bollywood Superstar Amitabh Bachchan was roped in for publicizing the tourist destinations across Gujarat including the Saputara hill station.

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