New Delhi: GST, central excise and service tax evasion detected during the April-December period of the current financial year stood at Rs 48,555 crore, the highest in two years. During the period, 8,917 cases of evasion of central excise, service tax and GST were detected involving an amount of Rs 48,555.06 crore, Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla Tuesday said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Of this, investigation in 3,626 cases of GST evasion/violations was initiated till December in the current financial year by Central GST (CGST) formations. "On the basis of investigation conducted so far, it emerges that the amount of tax involved in the these 3,626 evasion/violations cases is estimated to be Rs 15,278.18 crore," he added.

An amount of Rs 9,959.29 crore of GST evasion has been recovered between April 2018 and December 2018, he said. In the financial year 2017-18, 6,815 cases of central excise, service tax and GST evasion were detected involving an amount of Rs 32,204.49 crore.

In fiscal 2016-17, 10,212 cases of central excise and service tax evasion were detected involving an amount of Rs 23,618.52 crore. The recovery during 2016-17 and 2017-18 stood at Rs 6,107.88 crore and Rs 4,579.94 crore, respectively. Up to December this fiscal, recovery in evasion cases of GST, excise and service tax stood at Rs 13,907.83 crore.