North East Carrying Corporation Ltd. Vs State of Tripura (Tripura High Court)
The petitioner, a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and operating as a taxable transport agent under the Tripura Value Added Tax Act, 2004 (TVAT Act), deposited ₹12,00,000 as security in July 2013 as required under Section 22(4) of the Act. With the introduction of the Tripura State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (TSGST Act), effective 1 July 2017, the TVAT Act was repealed except for five petroleum products and alcohol for human consumption. Believing that the TVAT Act had ceased to apply and that transporters were not required to provide security deposits under the GST regime, the petitioner sought a refund of the security deposit on 5 April 2023.
Following this request, the tax authority issued seven show-cause notices in July 2023 under Section 77 of the repealed TVAT Act, proposing penalties for the period September 2013 to March 2014. It was alleged that consignments were delivered without valid delivery permits from consignees. The petitioner replied that assessments could not be made beyond five years under Section 33 of the TVAT Act, dealers were required to preserve documents only for five years under Rule 21(8), and transporters cannot be expected to maintain documents indefinitely. Another notice issued in January 2024 reiterated the demand for documents. On 18 March 2024, seven orders were passed imposing tax and penalties of up to 150% for the above period.
