Paving way for the first-ever prosecution against a senior IRS officer of the GST department, constituted last year, the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) has advised the government to grant sanction against Sansar Chand, a 1986 batch IRS officer, arrested by the CBI on charges of corruption in February this year. Chand was posted as GST commissioner at Kanpur and had allegedly taken bribes from the owners of Rimjhim Ispat Limited, SIR pan masala, Sugandhi Private Limited among others. As per the Central GST Act, the powers for inspection, search, seizure and arrest can be exercised by an officer, not below the rank of joint commissioner, in case a taxable person has suppressed any transaction relating to supply of goods or services or both, or has claimed input tax credit in excess of his entitlement under the Act or has acted in contravention of a provision of the Act. A joint commissioner is below the rank of commissioner.
Official sources confirmed that CVC is learnt to have opined the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), the cadre controlling authority for IRS officers, to give sanction to prosecute Chand. CBEC is said to have held consultations and conveyed its decision to CBI, officials familiar with the matter told The Indian Express. Under section 19 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, CBI needs to seek the previous sanction from the Central government for launching prosecution against a public servant from All India Services. The CBI, however, filed a chargesheet against Chand, his wife Avinash Kaur and 13 others with criminal conspiracy and corruption in April this year, without a formal sanction. While Sansar Chand was arrested on February 2, 2018, his wife was arrested on March 21, 2018, and was sent to judicial custody by the CBI court at Lucknow. The agency claimed to have seized Rs 58 lakh from the suspects, along with the documents of properties worth crores during raids in Delhi and Kanpur.
Seeking sanction against Chand, the agency claimed before CVC that IRS officer is among the first senior-most officer to be charged after GST was set up, officials said. It alleged that Chand along with his subordinates used to collect bribes on monthly and quarterly basis from industrialists and businessmen. The bribes in cash were routed through hawala channels to Delhi through Aman Jain and Chander Prakash, both residents of Delhi, who used to deliver it to Chand’s wife, according to CBI. Citing an instance, the agency claimed Chand was allegedly seeking an update on bribe from the owner of Shishu Soaps and Chemicals Limited, Manish Sharma, who sells his product under the brand name Rekha detergent when he was arrested. The bribe was received by Saurabh Pandey, the PA of Sansar Chand, on behalf of his boss and other officials from an employee of Manish Sharma, CBI had alleged.
Sharma, who was seeking relief from the notices of the Central Excise Department, had given an assurance that he would soon pay the bribe for the months from February 2018 to April 2018 which was conveyed to Chand through his middleman Amit Awasthi and arrested superintendent. “Investigation has further revealed that Sansar Chand and his wife Avinash Kaur had demanded and accepted various valuable things for themselves and their relatives. During investigation, a total 11 persons have been arrested and all are in prison under judicial custody,” an official explained.Sources said Chand used to run an organised systematic bribery racket. Kanpur-based entrepreneurs were told that if regular bribes were paid, then no action will be taken if no GST is paid. Businessmen were asked to deliver mobile phone, fridge, TV sets to commissioner’s wife, delivered to Chand’s Defence Colony home in Delhi by the companies, the agency alleged.