No benefit for dealer who intentionally undervalued his goods to escape from eyes of law: HC

  • Blog|News|GST & Customs|
  • 2 Min Read
  • By Taxmann
  • |
  • Last Updated on 31 March, 2023

Undervaluation of goods

Case Details: Radha Fragrance v. Union of India - [2023] 148 taxmann.com 431 (Allahabad)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

    • Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, J.
    • Murari Mohan RaiLokesh Mittal for the Petitioner.
    • A.S.G.I.C.S.C.Krishna Ji Shukla for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner received orders for supply of Pan Masala and Chewing Tobacco. The goods in transit from State of Haryana to Jharkhand were intercepted by mobile squad and it was found that the vehicle was transporting 120 Cartoons of Pan Masala and tobacco in place of 60 Cartoons which was evident from tax invoices produced by the driver.

The department passed the order under Section 129(3) of the Central GST Act, 2017 and levied penalty. The petitioner filed appeal which was rejected and he filed writ petition against the order. It was contended that he had recently started his business and to compete in the Pan Masala segment, he was offering huge discount and the price disclosed in the Tax Invoices can’t be disbelieved looking to the competitiveness in the business.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the purpose of dispensing E-Way bill for the goods below Rs.50,000/- does not allow the dealer to undervalue his goods so as to escape it from bringing to the notice of the Government and the Taxing Authorities by uploading the same on the Web-Portal.

In the instant case, the huge amount of Pan Masala and Tobacco were transported by grossly undervaluing goods and without downloading mandatory E-Way bill. Therefore, no benefit can be given to dealer who intentionally undervalued his goods to escape from eyes of law. Thus, the Court held that the action of State Authorities in detaining goods and imposing tax and penalty would need no interference.

Disclaimer: The content/information published on the website is only for general information of the user and shall not be construed as legal advice. While the Taxmann has exercised reasonable efforts to ensure the veracity of information/content published, Taxmann shall be under no liability in any manner whatsoever for incorrect information, if any.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Everything on Tax and Corporate Laws of India

To subscribe to our weekly newsletter please log in/register on Taxmann.com

Author: Taxmann

Taxmann Publications has a dedicated in-house Research & Editorial Team. This team consists of a team of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Lawyers. This team works under the guidance and supervision of editor-in-chief Mr Rakesh Bhargava.

The Research and Editorial Team is responsible for developing reliable and accurate content for the readers. The team follows the six-sigma approach to achieve the benchmark of zero error in its publications and research platforms. The team ensures that the following publication guidelines are thoroughly followed while developing the content:

  • The statutory material is obtained only from the authorized and reliable sources
  • All the latest developments in the judicial and legislative fields are covered
  • Prepare the analytical write-ups on current, controversial, and important issues to help the readers to understand the concept and its implications
  • Every content published by Taxmann is complete, accurate and lucid
  • All evidence-based statements are supported with proper reference to Section, Circular No., Notification No. or citations
  • The golden rules of grammar, style and consistency are thoroughly followed
  • Font and size that's easy to read and remain consistent across all imprint and digital publications are applied