Maa Kamakhya Trader Vs Additional Commissioner Grade 2 And Another (Allahabad High Court)
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court has asserted that once the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities complete physical verification of goods in transit and record no discrepancies in Form MOV-04, they cannot subsequently change their position and raise a demand based on different grounds. The judgment came in the case of M/s Maa Kamakhya Trader versus Additional Commissioner, Grade 2, and Another.
The case involved goods being transported from Guwahati, Assam, to Delhi. The consignment was intercepted by tax officials in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh, on September 21, 2023. The transporter presented all relevant documents, including tax invoices, e-invoices, e-way bills, and bilties (GR). The driver’s statement was recorded in Form MOV-01 on September 22, 2023, indicating that all documents were found to be correct at that point.
Crucially, a physical verification of the goods was conducted, and a report was prepared in Form MOV-04. The MOV-04 report, as per the court’s observation, specifically noted the description of goods as per the invoice and the description of goods in the conveyance, explicitly stating that no difference was found between the two.
However, despite this clear finding in the MOV-04, the department later shifted its stand, alleging that the goods in the conveyance were different from those declared in the accompanying documents. This change in position formed the basis for issuing a demand against the petitioner.
