No provision to Disclose Route of Transportation of Goods under GST

Om Prakash Kuldeep Kumar Vs Additional Commissioner Grade-2 And Another (Allahabad High Court)

The recent judgment by the Allahabad High Court in the case of M/s. Om Prakash Kuldeep Kumar v. Additional Commissioner Grade-2 and Another sheds light on a crucial aspect of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime – the disclosure of the route of transportation of goods. This article delves into the details of the case, the court’s analysis, and its impact on the GST landscape.

Hon’ble Allahabad High Court set aside the seizure of goods transported and held that, unlike the Value Added Tax Act, 2008 (“the VAT Act”), there is no specific provision in the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the CGST Act”) which requires assesses to declare the route of transportation/ transit of goods.

Facts:

M/s. Om Prakash Kuldeep Kumar (“the Petitioner”) is a registered dealer trading Bidi, Matchbox, Tobacco, etc.

The Petitioner prepared the Tax invoice as well as the E-way bill for the goods that were loaded on the Truck for transportation from Bewar Mainpuri to Karahal Mainpuri and Chhibramau, Kannauj.

During the onward journey, when the goods were in transit, the same was intercepted, and on the production of documents, i.e., tax invoices and e-way bills, Form GST MOV-01 was prepared. On the driver’s statement of the vehicle, the seizure/ detention order in Form GST MOV-06 was issued. After that, Form GST MOV-07 was passed, and the department, being not satisfied with the reply of the Petitioner, passed an order raising a demand of Rs. 2,36,304.68/- under Form GST MOV-09 under Section 129 (3) of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the UP GST Act”).

The department seized the vehicle and thereafter, a penalty was imposed on the ground that the driver of the vehicle produced only one tax invoice and e-way bill, whereas the documents about other items were not produced. In this regard, the Petitioner submitted that the driver intended to unload the goods prematurely in Mainpuri, citing the driver’s statement in Form GST MOV-01. The absence of a specified provision in the CGST Act regarding route disclosure during transportation makes the penalty unjust, whereas the VAT Act did contain such a provision.

Issue:

Whether there is any provision to disclose the route of transportation of Goods under the CGST Act?

Held:

The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court in WRIT TAX No. – 277 of 2022 held as under: