The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), the central investigation and anti-evasion arm under the finance ministry, has detected the highest-ever goods and services tax (GST) evasion by the online money gaming industry, amounting to Rs 81,875 crore in FY24 across 78 cases.
In its latest annual report, the DGGI said it detected a record 6,084 cases of tax evasion in 2023-24, involving Rs 2.01 trillion in GST, which is double the Rs 1.01 trillion identified in FY23 across 4,872 cases.

According to the report, 46 per cent of the evasion cases were related to non-payment of taxes through clandestine supply and undervaluation, 20 per cent involved fraudulent Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims, and 19 per cent pertained to improper ITC claims or failure to reverse them.

After online money gaming, the BFSI sector ranked second, which saw Rs 18,961 crore evaded across 171 cases. Other sectors included works contract services (343 cases, Rs 2,846 crore) and pharmaceuticals (22 cases, Rs 40 crore).
Additionally, 1,976 cases of GST evasion were detected in the iron, copper, scrap, and alloys sectors, involving Rs 16,806 crore in FY24. The pan masala, tobacco, cigarettes, and bidi industries ranked second in evasion, with 212 cases amounting to Rs 5,794 crore. Other sectors included plywood, timber, and paper (238 cases, Rs 1,196 crore), electronic items (23 cases, Rs 1,165 crore), and marble, granite, and tiles (235 cases, Rs 315 crore).