Tax and Penalty Was Rightly Imposed Where Driver & Person in Charge of Goods Didn’t Produce Any Documents | HC

Case Details: EVM Passenger Cars India (P.) Ltd. v. State of Kerala - [2023] 154 taxmann.com 555 (Kerala)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Dinesh Kumar Singh, J.
  • Smt. K. Latha, Adv. for the Petitioner.
  • Smt. Reshmita Ramachandran, Adv. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the present case, the GST department intercepted goods and vehicle of petitioner. The driver of vehicle and person in charge of goods, at time of interception, did not produce any statutory documents pertaining to transportation of goods. However, on receipt of show cause notice (SCN), the petitioner produced copies of e-way bills and claimed that transport of goods was genuine.

The Adjudicating Authority held that after issuance of SCN, there is no provision to accept documents subsequently to prove genuineness of transaction and imposed tax and penalty. It filed writ petition against the demand order.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the taxing provisions have to be construed strictly. If the mandate of law is that goods being transported must be accompanied with relevant statutory documents and if goods are being transported without relevant statutory documents, consequences would follow. Moreover, on verification, it was revealed that vehicle mentioned in e-way bill and vehicle through which goods were attempted to be transported was distinct. Therefore, it was held that the impugned order did not require any interference and petition was dismissed.