Interim relief in terms of deposit of fine along with penalty was granted for release of goods and conveyance in absence of following due procedure prescribed u/s 129

Blackart Ceramic LLP Vs State of Gujarat (Gujarat High Court)

Interim relief in terms of deposit of fine along with penalty was granted for release of goods and conveyance in absence of following due procedure prescribed u/s 129

Conclusion: Interim relief in terms of deposit of fine in lieu of confiscation of vehicle being Rs. 2,50,062/- with penalty of Rs. 5,00,124/- under Section 129(1a) which included 200% of the tax amount and bond value against the release of the goods to the tune of Rs. 13,89,224/- as per GST MOV-10 should be furnished by assessee for release of the goods detained/ seized under that Section and  no coercive steps or further order under Section 130 should be passed.

Held: Assessee was LLP Firm filing this petition through one of the partners. It was engaged in trading of ceramics and scrap and was registered person under the GST Act. It had got the order for supply of iron and steel waste from JP Steels and Iron, Kharasiya, Chhattisgarh.  The e-way bill for the conveyance for the tax invoice was generated and  the details of the truck was mentioned through which the goods were transported being the Registration No. GJ-10-TX­7383. It was the say of assessee that the driver produced all the relevant documents to explain the veracity of transaction and the conveyance was carrying 35,530 kgs. of the scrap iron. The vehicle transporting the goods was intercepted on 09.11.2022 at Songadh, Surat. After recording the statement of the driver in MOV-01, the order for inspection of the goods and vehicle was passed in MOV-02 on 09.11.2022. The physical verification was carried out on 15.11.2022 where no discrepancy was found. However, the order of detention under Section 129(1) of the Act passed in Form GST MOV-06 on 15.11.2022 was quite surprising although the driver had produced all the papers before the authority. A show cause notice in Form GST MOV-10 had been issued for confiscation under Section 130 of the GST Act without following the procedure as stipulated under Section 129 of the GST Act. Assessee filed reply dated 28.11.2022 urging that the assessment proceedings either under Section 73 or 74 of GST Act were required to be completed and therefore, Section 130 (GST Act) notice was not to be invoked under such circumstances. Assessee was a bonafide dealer and the goods were duly accompanied by the invoice, transport receipt and the e-way bill and there was no intention to evade the taxes. It was held that till this Court decided the matter finally, the interim relief in terms of deposit of fine in lieu of confiscation of vehicle being Rs. 2,50,062/- with penalty of Rs. 5,00,124/- under Section 129(1a) which included 200% of the tax amount and bond value against the release of the goods to the tune of Rs. 13,89,224/- as per GST MOV-10 should be furnished by assessee. On this being complied with, no coercive steps or further order under Section 130 should be passed. By way of interim relief, it was directed that the respondents should release the goods and conveyance of assessee, confiscated and detained pursuant to the detention order passed in Form GST MOV-06 and Form GST MOV-10 dated 15.11.2022, subject to the conditions imposed.

FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF GUJARAT HIGH COURT

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