Rajasthan footwear artisan earning Rs 15,000 a month receives Rs 6 cr GST notice: Fake TN export firm was allegedly registered using his PAN; he suspects loan documents were misused

Rajasthan footwear artisan Jitendra Kumar Jingar, who earns between Rs 10,000 and Rs 15,000 a month making traditional leather shoes in Gudamalani, Balotra district, has received a GST recovery notice of Rs 6.78 crore from the Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Department after a fake export firm was allegedly registered in another state using his PAN card and identity documents.

His bank account has been frozen, leaving him with no access to funds at a time when his family is already living at his younger brother's house while he constructs a single room under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme.

Rajasthan footwear artisan GST Notice


Jitendra said he first learnt something was wrong on 25 July when he visited his State Bank of India branch in Gudamalani and found his account had been blocked. Bank officials asked him to return on 28 July, when they handed him the recovery notice and informed him the account had been frozen over an outstanding GST liability.

The notice, issued on 5 May 2026 by the assistant commissioner of the Krishnagiri-2 Assessment Circle under the Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Department, states that a firm called Shri Shivam Exports owes Rs 6,78,97,357 in GST dues for the financial years 2017-18 to 2019-20. On the basis of GST registration and PAN details linked to Jitendra, banks were directed to immediately freeze his accounts, fixed deposits, and overdraft facilities.

Jitendra says he has never registered any company, has no connection to Tamil Nadu, and has never been involved in any export business.

PAN Card Fraud and Identity Theft

Officials in Balotra suspect that an interstate cyber fraud syndicate used Jitendra's PAN card and identity documents to register a fake export firm at a Krishnagiri address in Tamil Nadu, thousands of kilometres from where he lives and works.

Jitendra believes he knows how his documents may have been obtained. In 2018, after his father passed away, he applied for a loan at a finance company in Barmer to support his family. During the process, a company executive collected his documents and also took an OTP, which Jitendra was told was needed to check his CIBIL score. He now suspects that interaction was where his personal data was leaked or misused.

This type of fraud, where identity documents collected during loan applications or government scheme enrolments are later used to register fake firms and open fraudulent bank accounts in other states, has been flagged repeatedly by tax and law enforcement officials across India. The GST registration process, which can be completed online with basic identity documents, has at various points been exploited by syndicates operating across state lines.

Fake Export Firm Registered in Tamil Nadu

The firm named in the notice, Shri Shivam Exports, was registered using a Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu address, a district Jitendra has no connection to. GST records apparently linked his PAN to the firm's registration, which then accumulated dues of nearly Rs 6.79 crore across three financial years before the department moved to recover the amount.

Balotra's Assistant Commercial Tax Officer Bihari Lal confirmed that the case appears to involve PAN misuse to create a fraudulent business in another state. He advised Jitendra to immediately file an FIR at the nearest Cyber Crime Police Station.

Lal added that once the GST notice is formally submitted to the local tax office, officials can work to identify which mobile number, email address, and documents were used during the fake firm's GST registration, which could help trace the people behind it.

GST Fraud Warning for Public

The ACTO also used the case to issue a broader warning. Fraudsters, he said, routinely misuse identity documents collected in the name of loan applications or government welfare schemes to create fake firms, open fraudulent bank accounts, and build GST registrations that can then be used for large-scale tax evasion or financial fraud.

For Jitendra, the immediate reality is more pressing than the policy picture. His bank account remains frozen. His family remains at his brother's house. The single room he is building under PMAY is incomplete. And he is now facing a Rs 6.78 crore liability for a business he says he has never heard of, in a state he has never visited, under a firm name that means nothing to him.

He has been advised to file a police complaint.

(With TOI inputs)