Detention of vehicles / goods without following procedural norms is in gross contravention of statutory provisions of GST

Tvt. LAF Enterprises Vs Commissioner of Commercial Tax (Madras High Court)

The Hon’ble Madras High Court in Tvt. LAF Enterprises v. Commissioner of Commercial Tax [W.P. No. 14374 of 2022 dated June 10, 2022] held that, detention/seizure of the vehicle and goods without issuing proper notice or detention order by the proper officer is in gross contravention of the statutory provisions.

Facts:

M/S. Tvt. LAF Enterprises (“the Petitioner”) purchased iron scrap from various dealers and in the process of transporting the same from Guwahati to Coimbatore, on accounts of mechanical difficulty, the driver of the vehicle was forced to deviate from the planned route leading to the place of destination to identify a service shop for addressing the issue.

The vehicle was intercepted by the Deputy Tax Officer, Roving Squad, (“the Respondent”) who upon a perusal of the documents carried by the driver, arrived at the conclusion that the goods were being re-routed without proper e-way bill. The interception was justified by the Respondent relying upon a statement of the driver that was different from that of the Petitioner. However, no such copy of the statement was commissioned to the driver or the Petitioner.

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