GST dept begins drive against spurious diesel
1
2
3
T'puram: The state GST department has launched a large-scale inspection drive titled Operation Fuego Marino, targeting illegal diesel making and distribution units across the state.
The inspections are being carried out by the department's intelligence and enforcement wing at more than 50 locations, involving nearly 400 officers.
The crackdown focuses on spurious diesel, which poses serious environmental hazards and damages vehicle and machinery engines. Authorities believe the networks, which were previously rampant in other states, are now attempting to expand to Kerala.
In the initial phase, the counterfeit diesel is being supplied mainly to fishing boats.
The product is also being sold through unauthorised coastal diesel pumps and illegal yards. Despite its inferior quality, the spurious diesel is sold under the label of regular diesel, priced only one or two rupees below the market rate, allowing operators to earn massive profits. The units are run entirely without tax compliance.
Searches are being carried out at the homes and establishments of those linked to the illegal trade.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy
IC Markets
Tìm hiểu thêm
Undo
Authorities also initiated investigations against the owners of boats that used the diesel and the pumps that sold it.
The state GST commissioner warned that such illegal activities would not be tolerated under any circumstances and that strict legal action would follow. He also urged both traders and consumers to remain vigilant and avoid involvement in such operations.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Union minister highlights decrease in poverty rates
1 2 3 4 Vijayawada: Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office in 2014, the country witnessed equitable development across all sectors, leading to enhanced international standing and justice for all sections of society, said G Kishan Reddy, Union minister for coal and mines and Telangana BJP president. He was speaking at a press conference in Vijayawada on Tuesday. Reddy stated that India's economy became the world's fourth-largest, surpassing Japan, growing from a 2.1 trillion dollar economy in 2014 (10th position) to four trillion dollar, as confirmed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Govt aims to achieve a five trillion dollar economy soon. Furthermore, approximately 25 crore people were lifted out of poverty in the last nine years, with poverty rates decreasing from 29.2% in 2013-14 to 11.3% in 2022-23. Per capita income also saw a substantial 67% increase, rising from 68,572 in 2013-14 to 1,14,710 in 2024-25. The minister highlighted the successful implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the consensus of all states and the increase in states' share of tax revenue from 32% to 41-42%. He also detailed govt's war on black money, which included demonetisation and banking reforms, leading to a significant increase in the number of taxpayers from 6.9 crore in 2014 to 15.7 crore in 2024-25. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025 Top Trending Local Enterprise Accounting Software [Click Here] Accounting ERP Click Here Undo Direct tax collection also surged by 220% during this period. In terms of social welfare, Reddy announced that the NDA govt provided free ration to 81 crore people and constructed four crore pukka houses for the poor. The Union minister for coal and mines also mentioned that the expansion of the Ayushman Bharat scheme that was to cover over 50 crore poor and middle-class citizens, was now extended to include all individuals above 75 years of age for free medical services. The number of AIIMS institutions grew from seven to 26.
Time of India
24 minutes ago
- Time of India
Police question Angadias in illegal call centre case
1 2 3 Pune: The Pune city police have questioned Angadias, who ferry cash between Pune-Ahmedabad and Pune-Jaipur, in connection with the transfer of money to the illegal call centre in Kharadi that extorted millions of dollars from American citizens by posing as US law enforcement officials. However, the police are yet to trace the main cash peddler in the case. Police have now focused attention on the person who converted cryptocurrencies to cash or transferred money to the accounts of the call centre operators. On the intervening night of May 23 and 24, a police team raided the illegal call centre facility in Kharadi and found 123 people, including 12 women, on the premises. Investigations revealed that the call centre executives — numbering 118 — threatened US citizens with digital arrest in fake cases of narcotics or other fraud by posing as US law enforcement officials and extorted millions of dollars from them. They accepted online gift vouchers and cryptocurrencies. Additional commissioner of police (crime) Pankaj Deshmukh, deputy commissioner of police (crime) Nikhil Pingale, and inspector Ajay Waghmare have questioned the Angadias. Pingale said, "The company, which runs the illegal call centre, has been officially registered in Jaipur. The three main suspects are on the run, and our teams are trying to locate them." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Thuisbatterij in 2025: wat huiseigenaren niet weten Zonnepaneel Experts Meer lezen Undo Five people — Sarjitsingh Girawatsingh Shekhawat (26), Abhishekh Ajaykumar Pande (29), Shrimay Paresh Shah (31), Laxman Amarsingh Shekhawat (28), and Aron Arumugan Christian (29) -- all residing in Kharadi for about a year, were arrested on May 24. They were from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. "The call centre was extorting US$30,000 to US$40,000 per day in the form of cryptocurrencies or online gifts. Hence, ED initiated a parallel probe," police said. "The call centre operators diverted these cryptocurrencies and gifts to third-parties who used to encash them. They sent the money to the call centre operators using the services of Angadias," Pingale said. The facility was in operation since July 2024, and the agreement to run it from the hired premises was signed and executed in Jaipur, Rajasthan, police said. Pune: The Pune city police have questioned Angadias, who ferry cash between Pune-Ahmedabad and Pune-Jaipur, in connection with the transfer of money to the illegal call centre in Kharadi that extorted millions of dollars from American citizens by posing as US law enforcement officials. However, the police are yet to trace the main cash peddler in the case. Police have now focused attention on the person who converted cryptocurrencies to cash or transferred money to the accounts of the call centre operators. On the intervening night of May 23 and 24, a police team raided the illegal call centre facility in Kharadi and found 123 people, including 12 women, on the premises. Investigations revealed that the call centre executives — numbering 118 — threatened US citizens with digital arrest in fake cases of narcotics or other fraud by posing as US law enforcement officials and extorted millions of dollars from them. They accepted online gift vouchers and cryptocurrencies. Additional commissioner of police (crime) Pankaj Deshmukh, deputy commissioner of police (crime) Nikhil Pingale, and inspector Ajay Waghmare have questioned the Angadias. Pingale said, "The company, which runs the illegal call centre, has been officially registered in Jaipur. The three main suspects are on the run, and our teams are trying to locate them." Five people — Sarjitsingh Girawatsingh Shekhawat (26), Abhishekh Ajaykumar Pande (29), Shrimay Paresh Shah (31), Laxman Amarsingh Shekhawat (28), and Aron Arumugan Christian (29) -- all residing in Kharadi for about a year, were arrested on May 24. They were from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat. "The call centre was extorting US$30,000 to US$40,000 per day in the form of cryptocurrencies or online gifts. Hence, ED initiated a parallel probe," police said. "The call centre operators diverted these cryptocurrencies and gifts to third-parties who used to encash them. They sent the money to the call centre operators using the services of Angadias," Pingale said. The facility was in operation since July 2024, and the agreement to run it from the hired premises was signed and executed in Jaipur, Rajasthan, police said.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Centre may Crack Down on Dark Side of Qcomm Stores
The Centre may call for increased surveillance on rapid delivery outfits amid growing hygiene issues flagged by food and health watchdogs at dark stores run by quick commerce platforms. Senior officials in the consumer affairs ministry said the central government has taken cognisance of recent food safety complaints amid poor sanitary conditions at dark stores or warehouses from where such deliveries are made. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is expected to take the lead on this campaign. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like War Thunder - Register now for free and play against over 75 Million real Players War Thunder Play Now Undo The agency, which comes under the aegis of the health ministry, is planning to step up unscheduled checks at quick commerce dark stores and other storage facilities across the country, officials said. The FSSAI is charged with establishing the standards for manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import of food items. Live Events 'It's a work in progress… the government has been receiving several complaints from consumers as well as retailers and vendors,' a senior government official said. 'It's a serious issue that multiple departments will need to work together towards to address.' This follows raids by the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in Mumbai and Pune at warehouses of quick commerce platforms Zepto and Blinkit that threw up multiple hygiene issues and violations of food safety norms. It led to the suspension of the dark store operators' licences. ET reported on June 7 that nearly a dozen packaged food companies have written to quick commerce platforms in the last two-three months, raising immediate concerns about lapses in storage and handling at dark stores, citing specific violations. Multiple food safety issues at these platforms had cropped up last year as well after the Telangana food safety commissioner conducted raids at Blinkit warehouses in the state and found violations. The FSSAI had last year asked state authorities to step up scrutiny of quick commerce dark stores after concerns over hygiene and the supply of products close to expiry. In the light of this, the FSSAI had also changed regulations, stipulating that ecommerce and quick commerce marketplaces have to ensure a minimum shelf life of 30% or at least 45 days before products expire at the time of delivery. Quick commerce executives said dark stores operate as per existing laws. 'There's a standard training that everyone working at our dark stores undergoes to ensure how certain items are to be dealt with,' said a senior Gurugram-based executive at a quick commerce firm. 'This includes food items that need to be handled and stored, keeping certain things in mind such as temperatures or hygiene.' Besides hygiene and food safety-related concerns, quick commerce firms had also recently come under the scanner for the use of dark patterns. On May 28, Union consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi had held a meeting on this issue that was attended by top consumer internet firms including Swiggy, Zomato and Blinkit parent Eternal, Flipkart, BigBasket, Tata 1mg, Ola and Rapido. The consumer affairs ministry has since intensified awareness campaigns about dark patterns, which refer to deceptive app design practices that mislead consumers into unintended actions. These include false urgency alerts, subscription traps, hidden costs added at checkout and stealth advertising to manipulate consumer decision making. On June 7, the ministry issued an advisory asking ecommerce platforms to conduct self-audits to identify dark patterns within three months and take action to ensure these are scrapped. The companies, based on these audit reports, will then have to provide a declaration that they weren't indulging in any dark patterns. Industry executives and brand founders told ET that the fast, yet 'unchecked' expansion of quick commerce platforms — that led to these marketplaces as well as brands scaling up quickly — could be at the heart of the matter. Brands of specific products that are more susceptible to hygiene issues, such as frozen foods and ice creams, have been working with quick commerce platforms to figure out optimal ways to store and deliver items. 'Earlier, quick commerce companies delivered our products along with soaps and shampoos… but we have been working with them to understand how ice creams need to be stored and delivered in separate containers,' the founder of an ice-cream brand told ET. This year, quick commerce platforms are expected to sell around ₹200 crore of ice-cream products each month during summer. The sector, which has attracted billions of dollars in investments, has undergone a rapid scale-up in the last year. According to a note by HSBC Global Research, quick commerce firms in India had around 1,800 dark stores at the end of FY24, which increased to more than 4,000 by the end of fiscal 2025. That's expected to reach 5,000-5,500 stores by the end of FY26. This includes the larger players such as Blinkit, Zepto and Instamart, in addition to the likes of Flipkart Minutes, BigBasket, Amazon Now and Reliance Retail. Quick commerce dark stores that have been around for at least 12 months easily clock over 1,000 orders every day. Segment leader Blinkit recorded 142 million orders on its platform in the March quarter.
