The Andhra Pradesh State Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (APSDRI) has fined Fastlane Information Technologies Private Ltd, a company involved in the AP FiberNet case, Rs 34.01 crore for allegedly evading taxes. APSDRI sent a tax demand notice to the company, along with interest and penalty charges for violating the APGST Act, 2017.
According to APSDRI, GST is an indirect tax that sellers must collect from buyers and deposit with the government. However, Fastlane Information Technologies Private Ltd collected GST from buyers but failed to submit it to the government within the required time frame, resulting in the imposition of penalties.
Officials stated that Fastlane Information Technologies Private Ltd evaded taxes and diverted approximately Rs 10.81 crore to related firms and companies, which was intended for the Andhra Pradesh Fibernet Project. The AP CID has also filed a case in this matter. Terasoftware utilized Fastlane to divert and misuse funds released by AP State Fibernet Ltd.
The former managing director of Fastlane, Viplav Kumar Valluri, claimed that they were unable to pay taxes because APSFL had not paid them the invoice amounts, despite deducting TDS. However, APSDRI found that this claim was false. Fastlane had actually received the funds and redirected them to related firms and companies like Netops, XYZ innovations, and Koffee media.
Netops invested the funds in a real estate company owned by Vemuri Hari Prasad, a prime accused in the alleged AP Fibernet Scam and an associate of former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The company also failed to pay amounts owed to their vendor, Ingram, but approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for assistance. Their application was accepted, and Fastlane is now undergoing insolvency proceedings.
Officials also revealed that Viplav stated that Fastlane was established at the request of Tummala Gopi Chand, the managing director of Tera Soft Ltd, to assist him in the APSFL project. Gopichand is another accused in the Fibrenet case. Fastlane stopped filing GST returns in Andhra Pradesh in September 2020, leading to the cancellation of its registration by the government. Viplav Kumar, who was previously arrested by CID, is currently out on bail.
