Ahmedabad’s CBI special court has delivered justice in a protracted excise duty scam, handing down three-year rigorous imprisonment to three men involved in cheating the exchequer of Rs 1.18 crore. Originating 17 years ago, the fraud unraveled a sophisticated scheme relying on counterfeit paperwork.
Named in the judgment are Tejas Arvindbhai Desai and Amit Muralilal Gupta, both sentenced alongside a Rs 50,000 fine each, while Sameer Fateh Mohammad Imamuddin is declared absconding. The court lambasted the trio for hatching a criminal conspiracy, fabricating export records for the fictitious entity M/S Sain Impex in Surat.
According to CBI probes initiated in 2009, the accused submitted 51 bogus applications, pocketing illicit rebates that directly hurt Surat’s Central Excise revenue. The agency’s chargesheet, filed later that year against four suspects, laid bare the modus operandi of presenting fakes as genuine exports.
One defendant, Ghanshyam Gordhanbhai Rapliya, died mid-trial, closing his chapter. The verdict underscores irrefutable proof of intentional revenue evasion. This case exemplifies how persistent judicial oversight can culminate in accountability, even after years of legal wrangling.
Broader implications point to the need for robust digital verification in tax rebates today. With technology advancing, such legacy scams remind stakeholders of past pitfalls. The court’s decisive action not only punishes the guilty but also bolsters public trust in anti-corruption mechanisms.
