Tax consultant dupes distant relative from Junnar of ₹45 lakh under pretext of paying his GST

Pune: A tax consultant from Palghar allegedly duped his distant relative from Junnar to the tune of Rs45 lakh by failing to pay GST (goods and services tax) on his behalf between 2023 and 2025. The Junnar-based soybean trader lodged a complaint with the local police on Friday.

An officer from the Junnar police said that the complainant and the accused are distant relatives. In Feb 2023, the accused tax consultant told the complainant trader to give him GST-related work.

“The complainant trusted him as the accused had earlier helped him recover TDS (tax deducted at source) during the financial year 2021-22. The complainant decided to give him all his tax-related work. The accused’s annual charges were fixed at Rs30,000 for this work,” the officer said.

The accused took the complainant’s username and password for the GST portal and immediately changed it, due to which the complainant was unable to access the portal. Between April 2023 and Feb 2025, the complainant transferred Rs77 lakh to the accused.

“When the complainant asked for the username and password for the GST portal, the accused did not provide them. With the help of his friend, the complainant managed to reset the password and found that the accused had paid only Rs32 lakh towards GST and not paid the remaining Rs45 lakh. He had given the complainant fake receipts,” said the officer.

When the accused did not return the money despite repeated follow-ups, the complainant approached the police. The accused has been booked under sections 316 (criminal breach of trust) and 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).