Allahabad High Court Set Aside Penalty Imposed Due To Incorrect Vehicle Number In E-way Bill

Prayagraj, Jan 5 (KNN) The Allahabad High Court has stated that imposing a penalty for an incorrect vehicle number in an e-way bill is illegal unless there is an intention to evade tax.

The court emphasised that a mere typing error in recording the vehicle number, instead of the seized vehicle's number, does not signify an intention to evade tax.

The court has nullified the orders issued by the Assistant Commissioner and Additional Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Ghaziabad, dated August 29, 2019, and May 24, 2018, which involved the confiscation of the vehicle and the imposition of penalties.

The High Court has deemed these orders illegal and has directed the authorities to issue corresponding orders within four weeks.

Justice Shekhar B Saraf issued this directive while accepting the petition filed by M/s Hindustan Herbal Cosmetics.

The case revolves around the confiscation of cosmetic goods sent by the petitioner firm to M/s Shri Sai Infotech Jharkhand, accompanied by complete tax documents.

The Commercial Tax Squad Unit in Ghaziabad confiscated the goods based on a different vehicle number recorded in the e-way bill, leading to the imposition of a penalty.

The appeal against this decision was rejected, prompting the petition to the High Court.

The argument presented in the High Court emphasised that the different vehicle number was a result of a typing mistake on the e-way bill and that there was no intention to evade tax.

The petitioner clarified that the goods were dispatched with appropriate taxes paid. The actual vehicle number carrying the goods was 5332, while the e-way bill incorrectly indicated 3552.

The court acknowledged the typographical error as minor and concluded that it does not imply an intention to evade tax.

Consequently, the court declared the imposition of a penalty under Section 129 of the GST Act as illegal.

(KNN Bureau)