No authority needed to justify for movement of vehicle without valid GST E-Way bill: HC

Case Details: Abinash Kumar Singh v. State of West Bengal - [2023] 148 taxmann.com 393 (Calcutta)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Amrita Sinha, J.
  • Ms Sweta Mukherjee & Debajit Kundu, Adv. for the Petitioner.
  • Subir Kumar Saha, AGP. & Bikramaditya Ghosh, Adv. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was transporting goods against an e-way bill and the department imposed penalty for transporting goods with expired e-way bill. It filed writ petition against levy of penalty and contended that vehicle was kept waiting deliberately at check post and gate pass was not issued permitted on time. The e-way bill got expired, by the time, vehicle was ultimately issued gate pass.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the detention of goods without valid documents is permissible in law. There is no scope to dilute the provision of law for granting relief to an errant transporter. If goods can’t be transported within time then there is provision for extending validity period after uploading the details in the portal.

The Court also noted that it is the duty of the owner/transporter/consignor/consignee to keep track of the consignment and do the needful for transporting the goods in accordance with law. However, the Authority is not required to appreciate reasons for movement of vehicle without valid e-way bill. Therefore, the Court held that no relief can be granted to the petitioner in the instant case and the writ petition was dismissed.