Director of ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’, arrested for Rs 34 Crore GST fraud

Vijay Gutte has been booked under Section 132 (1)(c) of the CGST Act, which pertains to “wrongful availment” of input tax credit using bills and invoices that have been issued without any supply of goods or services.

New Delhi, August 3: Vijay Ratnakar Gutte, director of the upcoming movie The Accidental Prime Minister, has reportedly been arrested for alleged Goods and Services Tax fraud of at least Rs 34 crore.

Gutte was arrested by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGSTI) in Mumbai, as reported by The Indian Express. A Mumbai court has sent Vijay Gutte to judicial custody at Arthur Road jail till August 14.

According to the paper, Vijay Gutte’s firm, VRG Digital Corp Pvt Ltd, has been accused of taking “fake invoices” involving GST of Rs 34 crore for animation and manpower services received from Horizon Outsource Solutions Pvt Ltd, a company that has come under the scanner of the government agency for GST fraud of over Rs 170 crore.

Vijay Gutte has been booked under Section 132 (1)(c) of the CGST Act, which pertains to “wrongful availment” of input tax credit using bills and invoices that have been issued without any supply of goods or services.

Vijay Gutte has so far produced three films, Emotional Attyachar, Time Bara Vait and Badmashiyaan.

The Accidental Prime Minister is based on a book by Sanjaya Baru, a former media advisor to Manmohan Singh. Anupam Kher stars as former PM Manmohan Singh, Akshaye Khanna features as Baru, and Divya Seth Shah plays Manmohan Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur in the movie.

The movie is set to release on December 21.