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AMRITA SINHA
Mohammad Shamasher – Appellant
Versus
State of West Bengal – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
AMRITA SINHA, J.
1. The petitioner is the sole proprietor of M/s Afika Infrastructure. He is registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. An escalator machine (JCB) of the petitioner returning from work was intercepted by the officers of the Bureau of Investigation, North Bengal Alipurduar Zone. The driver of the vehicle failed to produce any document in support of movement of the goods, i.e. the JCB machine. On account of the said offence order of detention under Section 129 (1) of the State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 was issued. The authority alleged that the provision of Section 68 (1) of the Act was violated. The petitioner was directed to pay penalty under Section 129 (3) of the Act.
2. The adjudicating authority passed order against the petitioner. An appeal was carried there from before the appellate forum which too stood rejected. The petitioner has been held liable for payment of penalty of a sum of Rs. 9,93,008/- for contravention of the provision of the Act and the Rules made thereunder. The petitioner has executed a bank guarantee for the above sum subject to which the JCB machine has been released provisionally.
3. Specific case of the pe
The intention to evade tax, non-taxable nature of goods movement, and the relevance of valid documents are crucial in imposing penalties under Section 129 of the Act.
The main legal point established in the judgment is the distinction between non-compliance and intentional evasion of tax, and the applicability of penalty provisions based on the facts and circumsta....
Penalties under GST Act require evidence of intent to evade tax; mere technical omissions do not warrant penalties when tax has been duly paid.
The court established that valid digital documentation suffices for compliance under the GST Act, and failure to verify such documents by authorities cannot justify a penalty.
Penalties for minor breaches under the CGST/SGST Acts should be proportionate and not severe unless there is intent to evade tax.
For imposition of penalties under the GST Act, intent to evade tax must be established; mere expiration of documents does not suffice.
The absence of essential documents with intercepted goods raises a presumption of intention to evade tax, shifting the burden of proof to the assessee to rebut this presumption.
Intention to evade tax is a prerequisite for imposing penalties under GST Act; mere technical issues should not warrant such penalties.
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