Stay informed about E-Way Bill offences and penalties in Tamil Nadu under the GST Act. Understand the various sections, rules, and compliance nuances to ensure a smooth movement of goods.
UNDER THE GST ACT:-
A) Residuary clause -The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai, instructed, to levy uniformly, penalty for Rs.25000- per Act not elsewhere specified in his Circular No.10/2019dt 31.05.219; dt 15.11.2021; in IW1/3365394/2022 dt 10.1.2023;and dt 24.02.2023.
B) Penalty Under Section 164.
C) Penalty Under Section 122 (1)(xiv)
D) Penalty under Section 126 (Circumstances where no penalty shall be levied by the Roving squad.)
E) Penalty under Section 125( Rs.500-each under CGST and SGST Act) (Rs.1000- under IGST Act)
F) Penalty under Section 125( Rs.5000-each under CGST and SGST Act) (Rs.10000- under IGST Act
G) Penalty under Section 125( Rs.25000-each under CGST and SGST Act) (Rs.50000- under IGST Act
H) Penalty under Section 129.-Maximum penalty prescribed in the Act /Rules
I) Electronic copy admissible in lieu of physical copy of document- No penalty.
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A) Residuary clause -The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai, instructed, to levy uniformly, penalty for Rs.25000- per Act.( in Circular No. IW1/3365394/2022 dated 10.01.2023 he referred his Circular No.10/2019dt 31.05.219; dt 17.12.2019; dt 15.11.2021; Circular No.38(2018)/2019 dt 05.04.2019- are duly considered in this article ):
In point Number 11(1)(ii) in CCT, Chennai Circular No.IW1/3365394/2022 dated 10.01.2023 (page No.16) : “ In all other circumstances other than those falling under Sl.No. 9,10,11(i) and 12, a penalty of Rs.25,000- under section 125 of the Act shall be levied.”
B) FOR CONTRAVENTION OF ANY OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE GST ACT OR THE RULES MADE THEREUNDER- PENALTY UNDER THE SECTION 164 OF THE TNGST ACT – Penalty non exceeding Rs.10,000-:
Section 164. (1):- The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub- section (1), the Government may make rules for all or any of the matters which by this Act are required to be, or may be, prescribed or in respect of which provisions are to be or may be made by rules.
4) Any rules made under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) may provide that a contravention thereof shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten thousand rupees.
C) Clause (xiv) to sub section (1) of Section 122 prescribed the penalty and offence as follows:-
In the Circular Number 64/38/2018 GST dated 14.09.2018, the CBIC has clarifies in para (4) that ‘Further, it may be noted that the non-furnishing of information in part-B of Form GST EWB-01 amounts to the e-way bill becoming not a valid document for the movement of goods by road as per Explanation (2) to rule 138(3) of the CGST Rules, except in the case where the goods are transported for a distance of upto fifty kilometres within the state or Union to or from the place of business of the transporter to the place of business of the consignor or the consignee, as the case may be.’ In this regards the offence and penalty has been prescribed in clause (xiv) to sub section (1) of Section 122 of the CGST Act as follows:
“where a taxable person who transports any taxable goods without the cover of document as may be specified in this behalf; he shall be liable to a pay penalty of ten thousand rupees.”
Even though the registered person generated E-way bill for transports any taxable goods, but in Part-B of Form GST EWB-01 non-furnishing the details of vehicle number will be treated as without the cover of document (when form has filed, becomes document)
[please note that, ‘or the amount equivalent to the tax evaded or whichever is higher’ prescribed in sub section (1) of Section 122 is applicable only for its clauses (i); (ii); (iii) ;(iv) ; (v); (vi) (vii); (viii);(ix);(x); (xv); (xviii); (xix) – wherein the intention to tax evasion has been established]
D) General Disciplines related to NO Penalty under Section 126 of CGST Act :: prescribed that
“No officer under this Act shall impose any penalty for minor breaches of tax regulations or procedural requirements and in particular, any omission or mistake in documentation which is easily rectifiable and made without fraudulent intent or gross negligence.
Explanation- For the purpose of this sub section –
(a) A breach shall be considered a ‘minor breach’ if the amount of tax involved is less than five thousand rupees.;
(b) An omission or mistake in documentation shall be considered to be easily rectifiable if the same is an error apparent on the face of the record.”
The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai in his Circular No. IWI/ 3365394/2022 dated 10.01.2023 clarified that (11)(i)
|
Sl.No. |
Issue | Clarification |
| 1(a) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Ship to’ address in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in some locality i.e. having same PIN Code as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the Consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/ Bill of supply/delivery Challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of registered person, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted. As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (ii) If Application reference Number (ARN) has already been generated regarding declaration of additional place of business and produced for verification and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to the check of movement of the vehicle by the official, no penalty is to levied. |
| 2 | BILL TO SHIP TO The given ‘Shipto’ address of CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING but not a registered place of the consignee builder and materials were delivered based on construction agreement and consignee is a registered tax payer. The address of delivery as per document and place of actual delivery is same |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/Billof supply/ delivery Challan and valid E-way bill and irregularity relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted. As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.(ii) If ARN has already been generated regarding declaration of additional place of business and produced for verification and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to the Check of movement of the vehicle by the official, no penalty is to be levied. |
| 4 | The address given in E-way bill is a ware house/ place of transporter which is a registered place of the tax payer and used for further transaction of those goods by the recipient tax payer. |
(i)In Commissioner of State tax Circular No.38 (2018)/2019 dated 05.04.2019, it has been clarified that, the goods in movement including when they are stored in transporter’s godown (even the godown is located in the recipient tax payer’s city/town) prior to delivery shall always be accompanied a valid e-way bill. Further , in case the consignee / recipient tax payer stores his goods in the godown of the transporter, then the transporter’s godown has to be declared as an additional place of business by the recipient tax payer. [Author View: transporting goods from additional place to principal/ other additional place of business of the registered person, shall carry, delivery challan and e-way bill in addition with other documents].
(ii)If ARN has already been generated regarding declaration of warehouse/transporter’s godown as additional place of business and produced for verification and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to the check of movement of the vehicle by the official, no penalty is to be levied. |
| 5(a) | The address given in E way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in SAME LOCALITY i.e. having the SAME PIN CODE as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/bill of supply/ delivery
challan and valid e-way bill and the As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (ii) If ARN has already been generated regarding declaration of additional place of business and produced for verification and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to the check of movement of the vehicle by the official, no penalty is to be levied. |
| 6 | (a)As per E-way bill, the goods supplied at Worksite where the supplier has an order to install, maintenance, testing, erection etc. but not a registered place of that tax payer.b)As per E way bill, goods transported by a taxpayer for outdoor display but the destination address is an unregistered place of the tax payer.c) As per E-way bill, goods were moved to a construction site by the taxpayer, based on the construction agreement entered, but the Construction Site was not registered under the GST Act. |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/bill of supply/delivery challan and valid E way bill and irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted.
Asper Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submits an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (ii) If ARN has already been generated regarding declaration of additional place of business and produced for verification and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to check of the movement of the vehicle by the official, no penalty is to be levied. |
| 7 | Goods were transported by a registered tax payer to participate in an exhibition or trade fair and for that place, no amendment of registration for inclusion of additional place of business has been done. |
However if ARN has already generated regarding declaration of place of exhibition or trade fair as an additional place of business and produced for verification and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to the Check of movement of the Vehicle by the official, no penalty is to be levied. |
| 8 | Finished goods moved by principal after Completion of JOB WORK from the premises of an unregistered jobworker to a recipient for sale. |
(i)As per proviso to section 143(1) the principal shall supply the goods from the place of business of an unregistered job worker unless the said principal declares the said place of business of job-worker as his additional place of business.
If ARN has already been generated regarding declaration of additional place of business and produced for verification, and if the date and time of generation of ARN is prior to the check of movement of the vehicle by the official, no penalty is to be levied. |
| 9 | A Company undertaking project of a Government Authorities/ Entities executing work order relating to laying of road or pipe lines in a stretch which is covered by the work order given by Government Authority/Entity and has proper invoice/bill of supply/ delivery challan and E way bill, but the place of delivery is an unregistered place |
As per Rule 138 of the TNGST Rules 2017, for movement of goods in motorized vehicle, invoice/ bill of supply/ delivery challan and e way bill is mandatory.
There is difficulty in registering all stretches of the work site as additional place of business in the instance cited. If the work order issued by the Government Authority/ Entity is produced as valid proof of site address for execution, no penalty is to be levied, for the transportation and delivery of goods at work site. |
E) General Penalty under Section 125 ( Rs.500-each under CGST and SGST Act) (Rs.1000- under IGST Act)
In the Circular Number 64/38/2018 GST dated 14.09.2018, the CBIC has clarifies in para (5) and (6) that “ in case a consignment of goods is accompanied with an invoice or any other specified document and also an e-way bill, proceedings under section 129 of the CGST Act may not be initiated , inter alia, in the following situations :
a) Spelling mistakes in the name of the consignor or the consignee but the GSTIN, wherever applicable, is correct;
b) Error in the pin-code but the address of the consignor and the consignee mentioned is correct, subject to the conditions that the error in the PIN code should not have the effect of increasing the validity of the e-way bill;
c) Error in the address of the consignee to the extent that the locality and other details of the consignee are correct;
d) Error in one or two digits of the document number in the e-way bill;
e) Error in 4 or 6 digit level of HSN where the first 2 digits of HSN are correct and the rate of tax mentioned is correct;
f) Error in one or two digits / Character of the vehicle number.
“(6) In the above situations, the penalty to the tune of Rs. 500/ each under Section 125 of the CGST Act and the respective State GST should be imposed ( Rs.1000/- under the IGST Act) in form GST DRC-07 for every consignment.” .
Note:- With reference to the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai, Circular No. 10/2019 dt 31.05.2019; amended dt 17.12.2019;15.11.2021;10.01.2023, for the provisions specified in para 9, further amended by Circular No. IW1/3365394/2022 dt 24.02.2023, assigned re-numbered as para 9-B and specified the offence and penalty, as such prescribed in para (5) and (6) in the CBIC Circular Number 64/38/2018 GST dated 14.09.2018. Paragraph number 10 in Circular No.10 of 2019 and no penalty circumstances prescribed in (Sec.126) para-9 has been left untouched (assigned re-numbered as para 9-A) and would thus still be available in those specific circumstances.
F) Penalty under Section 125( Rs.5000-each under CGST and SGST Act) (Rs.10000- under IGST Act )
(i) The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai by Circular No.Q1/17253/2019 dated 15.11.2021 amended his earlier Circular No. 10/2019 dated 31.05.2019; dated 18.06.2019 clarified that first paragraph of point No.10 (page-8) in the circular is amended as follows :
“Where the person in charge of conveyance carrying consignment of goods carries the documents prescribed under rule 138-A or rule 55-A (i.e. e-way bill generated and invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, as the case may be) , but the case involves minor defects not intended for evasion of tax in the particular transaction and the documents otherwise manifestly show sufferance of tax in that transaction, a penalty of up to Rs.5000- per Act shall be levied. The following are examples in this context”
‘Example 1: Vehicles meant for a vehicle distributor are delivered at the stock yard/ godown/ branch; the transporter possesses the necessary tax invoice, but the E way bill was generated for principal place of business/ different place of business.
In this case the CGST/ SGST / IGST (if interstate supply) would have been suffered at the hands of manufacturer or distributor. Mere delivery of the goods at a place other than those mentioned in the documents would not render the transaction as an evasion or abetment of evasion. Being B2B transaction, trail of transaction would now be available in GSTR-1 for the department.
Example 2: A conveyance carrying the goods from a factory of fertilizers is delivering the same at various locations as directed by the department of Agriculture. The goods are accompanied by invoice or invoice with delivery challan and E way bill. The E way bill was expired due to delay in making delivery at various locations. The expiry of E way bill does not create any scope for evasion.
In cases as in the examples, penalty of upto Rs.5000- per Act shall be levied. ‘
(ii) The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai in his Circular No. IWI/ 3365394/2022 dated 10.01.2023 clarified that (11)(i)
|
Sl.No. |
Issue | Clarification |
| 1(a) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Ship to’ address in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in some locality i.e. having same PIN Code as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the Consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/ Bill of supply/delivery Challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of registered person, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted.
As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (i) In this regard, if valid rental/ lease |
| 1(c ) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Shipto’ address in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is a registered place of the consignee. |
(i) Since the consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/ bill of supply/ Delivery challan and valid E-way bill for vehicle number and time period then, minor penalty of Rs.5000- is to be levied under section 125 of the TNGST Act. |
| 2 | BILL TO SHIP TO The given ‘Shipto’ address of CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING but not a registered place of the consignee builder and materials were delivered based on construction agreement and consignee is a registered tax payer. The address of delivery as per document and place of actual delivery is same | Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/Billof supply/ delivery Challan and valid E-way bill and irregularity relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted. As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.
(i)In this regards, if valid rental/lease agreement is produced as proof of |
| 3 | BILL TO SHIP TO (whether one Invoice is enough for movement of goods in Bill to Shipto transactions | If supplier ‘A’ places purchase order on supplier ‘B’ to ship the goods to the recipient ’C’ then, (i)If E way bill is generated by B, corresponding invoice of B raised on A and the same details filled in e-way bill is required during the transportation of goods.
(ii) If e-way bill is generated by A, corresponding invoice of A raised on the recipient C and the same details filled in e- way bill is required during the [Author View: please note that (i) and (ii) both the documents are mandatory during transportation, means the person in charge of the vehicle shall carry both the documents (i) and (ii) and at the time of interception shall produce both the documents (i) (iii)If, Recipient C is a registered tax payer , but his GSTIN is not given in the Bill to Ship to invoice, minor penalty of Rs.5000-under Section 125 of the TNGST is to be levied. |
| 5(a) | The address given in E way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in SAME LOCALITY i.e. having the SAME PIN CODE as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/bill of supply/ delivery challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE OF REGISTERED PERSON, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted.
As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (i) In this regard, if valid rental/lease agreement etc., is produced as proof of unregistered place of business , and if the date of such rental/ relase agreement is within 15days prior to the date of checking of vehicle, minor penalty of Rs.5000- shall be levied as per section 125 of the Act TNGST Act 2017. |
| 5(c ) | The address given in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is a registered place of the Consignee. |
(i)Since the consignment in question is duly covered with valid invoice/ bill of supply/ delivery challan and valid E way bill for vehicle number and time period, then minor penalty of Rs.5000- is to be levied under section 125 of the TNGST Act. |
| 6 |
(a) As per E-way bill, the goods supplied at b) As per E way bill, goods transported by a taxpayer for outdoor display but the destination c) As per E-way bill, goods were moved to a construction site by the taxpayer, based on the construction agreement entered, but the Construction Site was not registered under the GST Act. |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/bill of supply/delivery challan and valid E way bill and irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted.
Asper Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submits an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (i) In this regards, if valid rental/ lease agreement etc, is produced as proof of unregistered place of business, and if the date of such rental/lease agreement is within 15 days prior to the date of checking of vehicle, minor penalty of Rs.5000- is to be levied as per section 125 of the Act TNGST Act 2017. |
G) Penalty under Section 125( Rs.25000-each under CGST and SGST Act) (Rs.50000- under IGST Act ) :
The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai in his Circular No. IWI/ 3365394/2022 dated 10.01.2023 clarified that
(a) “11(ii) In all other Circumstances, other than the ones falling under Serial No,9,10,11(1) and 12, a penalty of Rs.25,000- under section 125 of the Act shall be levied. and
(b) Point No. “11(i)”
|
Sl.No. |
Issue | Clarification |
| 1(a) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Ship to’ address in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in some locality i.e. having same PIN Code as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the Consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/ Bill of supply/delivery Challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of registered person, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted. As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.
(iii) If no ARN and no valid rental /lease agreement is produced as above, penalty of Rs.25,000- under section 125 is to be levied. |
| 1(c ) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Shipto’ address in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is a registered place of the consignee. |
(ii) Since the consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/bill of supply/delivery challan and valid E-way bill for vehicle number and time period ,if the registered person repeats the same offence (more than once in a calendar month or twice in a calendar quarter or thrice in a financial year ) maximum penalty of Rs.25000- under section 125 of the TNGST Act 2017 is to be levied. |
| 2 | BILL TO SHIP TO The given ‘Shipto’ address of CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING but not a registered place of the consignee builder and materials were delivered based on construction agreement and consignee is a registered tax payer. The address of delivery as per document and place of actual delivery is same |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/ Bill of supply/ delivery Challan and valid E-way bill and irregularity relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted. As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.(iii) If no ARN and no valid rental /lease agreement as above is produced, penalty of Rs.25,000- under Section 125 is to be levied. |
| 3 | BILL TO SHIP TO (whether one Invoice is enough for movement of goods in Bill to Shipto transactions | If supplier ‘A’ places purchase order on supplier ‘B’ to ship the goods to the recipient’ C’ then,
(i) If E way bill is generated by B, (ii) If e-way bill is generated by A, (iii)If, Recipient C is a registered tax payer, but his GSTIN is not given in the Bill to Ship to invoice, [ Author View: please note that (i) and (ii) both the documents are mandatory during |
| 5(a) | The address given in E way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in SAME LOCALITY i.e. having the SAME PIN CODE as mentioned in the E way bill. | Since the consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/bill of supply/ delivery challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE OF REGISTERED PERSON, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted.
As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for (iii) If no ARN and no Valid rental /lease agreement produced, penalty of Rs.25,000-under section 125 is to be levied. |
| 5(c ) | The address given in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is a registered place of the Consignee |
(ii) If the registered person repeats the same offence, (more than once in a calendar month or twice in a calendar quarter or thrice in a financial year) maximum penalty of Rs.25000- under section 125 of the TNGST Act 2017 is to be levied. |
| 6 | (a)As per E-way bill, the goods supplied at Worksite where the supplier has an order to install, maintenance, testing, erection etc. but not a registered place of that tax payer.
b)As per E way bill, goods transported c) As per E-way bill, goods were moved to a construction |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/bill of supply/delivery challan and valid E way bill and irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted.Asper Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submits an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.(ii) If no ARN and no valid rental/ lease agreement as above is produced , penalty of Rs.25000- under Section 125 is to be levied. |
H) Maximum penalty prescribed Under Section 129 of the CGST Act::
In the Circular Number 64/38/2018 GST dated 14.09.2018, the CBIC has clarifies in para (3) and (4) that
[a] “(3) Section 68 of the CGST Act read with rule 138-A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the CGST Rules) requires that the person in charge of a conveyance carrying any consignment of goods of value exceeding Rs.50,000- should carry a copy of document viz. invoice/bill of supply/ delivery challan /bill of entry and a valid e-way bill in physical or electronic form for verification.
In case such person does not carry the mentioned documents, there is no doubt that a contravention of the provisions of the law takes place and the provisions of section 129 and section 130 of the CGST Act are invocable.”
[b] “ It is clarified that in case a consignment of goods is accompanied by an invoice or any other specified document and not an e-way bill, proceedings under Section 129 of the CGST Act may be initiated.” .
The Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai in his Circular No. 10/2019 dated 31.05.2019, in point 12 (at page-9) clarified that
“ 12. Circumstances where maximum penalty shall be levied :
Where goods are transported without any of the prescribed documents like invoice, delivery challan, e-way bill, it is presumed that there is an intention to evade tax and maximum penalty shall be levied, provided the tax amount exceeds Rupees five thousand.
Further the Principal Secretary and Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai in his Circular No. IWI/ 3365394/2022 dated 10.01.2023 clarified in point Number-11)(i) :
|
Sl.No. |
Issue | Clarification |
| 1(a) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Ship to’ address in E Way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in some locality i.e. having same PIN Code as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the Consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/ Bill of supply/delivery Challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of registered person, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted.
As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal. (iv) If the registered person repeats the same offence, (more than once in a calendar month or twice in a calendar quarter or thrice in a financial year) Maximum penalty under Section 129 is to be levied. |
| 1(b) | BILL TO SHIP TO The ‘Ship to’ address in E way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in another locality i.e. PIN CODE mentioned in the E Way bill is different |
Maximum Penalty under section 129 of the TNGST Act is to be levied. |
| 2 | BILL TO SHIP TO The given ‘Shipto’ address of CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDING but not a registered place of the consignee builder and materials were delivered based on construction agreement and consignee is a registered tax payer. The address of delivery as per document and place of actual delivery is same |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/Billof supply/ delivery Challan and valid E-way bill and irregularity relates to unloading the goods at an unregistered place of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted. As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.(iv) If no ARN and no valid rental/lease agreement as above is produced, the registered person repeats the same offence (more than once in a calender month or twice in a calender quarter or thrice in a financial year) Maximum penalty under Section 129 is to be levied. |
| 4 | The address given in E-way bill is a ware house/ place of transporter which is a registered place of the tax payer and used for further transaction of those goods by the recipient tax payer. |
(i)In Commissioner of State tax Circular No.38 (2018)/2019 dated 05.04.2019, it has been clarified that, the goods in movement including when they are stored in transporter’s godown (even the godown is located in the recipient tax payer’s city/town) prior to delivery shall always be accompanied a valid e-way bill.
Further , in case the consignee / recipient tax payer stores his goods in the godown of the transporter, then the transporter’s godown has to be declared as an additional place of business by the recipient tax payer. [Author View: transporting goods from additional place to principal/ other additional place of business of the registered person, shall carry, delivery challan and e-way bill in addition with other documents]. (iii)If ARN is not produced as cited above, then it is the violation of Commissioner of State Tax, Circular No.38(2018)/2019 dated 05/04/2019 and section 129 of the TNGST Act 2017, attracting penalty. |
| 5(a) | The address given in E way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, who is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in SAME LOCALITY i.e. having the SAME PIN CODE as mentioned in the E way bill. |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with invoice/bill of supply/ delivery challan and valid e-way bill and the irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE OF REGISTERED PERSON, as narrated in the issue, the following procedure needs to be adopted.As per Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submit an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.If no ARN and no Valid rental /lease agreement produced, (iv) If the registered person repeats the same offence, (more than once in a calender month or twice in a calendeer quarter or thrice in a financial year) maximum penalty under section 129 is to be levied. |
| 5(b) | The address given in E way bill differed from where the goods are being actually delivered which is an unregistered place of the consignee, which is a registered tax payer, but the place of delivery is in another locality i.e. PIN CODE mentioned in the E Way bill is different. |
Maximum penalty under Section 129 of the TNGST Act, is to be levied. |
| 6 | (a)As per E-way bill, the goods supplied at Worksite where the supplier has an order to install , maintenance, testing, erection etc. but not a registered place of that tax payer.b)As per E way bill, goods transported by a taxpayer for outdoor display but the destination address is an unregistered place of the tax payer.c) As per E-way bill, goods were moved to a construction site by the taxpayer, based on the construction agreement entered, but the Construction Site was not registered under the GST Act. |
Since the consignment in question is duly covered with Invoice/bill of supply/delivery challan and valid E way bill and irregularities relating to UNLOADING THE GOODS AT AN UNREGISTERED PLACE of the registered person, the following procedure needs to be adopted.Asper Rule 19(1) of the TNGST Rules, the registered person shall within a period of 15 days from the date of change in any particulars of registration, submits an application for amendment regarding additional place of business in the common portal.(iv) If the registered person repeats the same offence (more than once in a calender month or twice in a calendeer quarter or thrice in a financial year) maximum penalty under section 129 is to be levied. |
| 7 | Goods were transported by a registered tax payer to participate in an exhibition or trade fair and for that place, no amendment of registration for inclusion of additional place of business has been done. |
The tax payer participating in exhibition or trade fair tends to supply of goods from such place of event. Hence, transportation of the goods to participate in an exhibition or trade fair, without declaring the place of exhibition or trade fair as an additional place of business is a violation of section 129 of the TNGST Act, 2017 and penalty is to be levied. |
| 8 | Finished goods moved by principal after Completion of JOB WORK from the premises of an unregistered job worker to a recipient for sale. |
(i)As per proviso to section 143(1) the principal shall supply the goods from the place of business of an unregistered job worker unless the said principal declares the said place of business of jobworker as his additional place of business.
If the above condition is not fulfilled which is a violation, penalty under Section 129 of the TNGST Act 2017 is to be levied. |
I). ELECTRONIC COPY ADMISSIBLE IN LIEU OF PHYSICAL COPY OF DOCUMENT:
The Principal Secretary / Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Chennai in his Circular No. Q1/ 17253 / 2019 dated 15.11.2021, point No.4, at page 3 instructed that:
“ The person in charge of a conveyance has to carry an E way bill and Invoice or bill of supply or delivery Challan, either in physical or electronic form. The person in charge of a conveyance , on demand of the Roving Squad officer, shall produce:
i. E-way bill, either physically or electronically, or the e-way bill number alone, to substantiate that, the e-way bill was generated prior to commencement of movement of goods.
ii. Invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan , as the case may be either physically or electronically. In case of production of invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, electronically, it may be shown in e-mail, or in whatsapp or such other applications, in mobile phone or such other electronic devices to clearly indicate that, the person in charge of the conveyance has received the document, prior to the commencement of movement of goods, with date and time of the document.
The Roving Squad officers, shall not insist on physical copy of these documents, if the person in charge of a conveyance prefers to show them electronically.
138A. Documents and devices to be carried by a person-in-charge of a conveyance.
138B. Verification of documents and conveyances.
138C. Inspection and verification of goods
138D. Facility for uploading information regarding detention of vehicle
138E. Restriction on furnishing of information in PART A of FORM GST EWB-01.
CGST Act, Section 68. Inspection of goods in movement:-
(1) The Government may require the person in charge of a conveyance carrying any consignment of goods of value exceeding such amount as may be specified to carry with him such documents and such devices as may be prescribed.
(2) The details of documents required to be carried under sub-section (1) shall be validated in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) Where any conveyance referred to in sub-section (1) is intercepted by the proper officer at any place, he may require the person in charge of the said conveyance to produce the documents prescribed under the said sub-section and devices for verification, and the said person shall be liable to produce the documents and devices and also allow the inspection of goods.
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excellent sir