Gobindgarh, August 19: Shock waves reverberated through the steel manufacturing hubs of Ludhiana and Mandi Gobindgarh following the arrest of All India Furnace Association president KK Garg by Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) authorities.
Sources confirmed that federal GST officials initially detained KK Garg for questioning before formally placing him under arrest late last night. The development drew swift criticism from regional industrial bodies, who accused enforcement agencies of employing autocratic revenue-generation tactics and targeting legitimate end-buyers within the scrap metal supply chain.
World MSME president Badish Jindal affirmed that trade representatives have formally approached the Union Finance Ministry regarding statutory conflicts between Section 16(2) and Section 158 of the CGST Act, 2017. He maintained that genuine business owners who settle all municipal and federal taxes remain vulnerable when earlier intermediaries in a multi-tier supply chain commit tax evasion or issue bogus invoices.
Echoing these concerns, Mandi Gobindgarh Furnace Association representatives declared that high-handed regulatory provisions penalize transparent enterprises for the fraudulent actions of unorganized, untraceable sellers. Association leadership stated that tracking tax defaulters remains the sole responsibility of the department rather than honest trade partners, noting that earlier legal challenges in the High Court have yet to yield relief for the industry.
