Nokia Solutions And Networks India Pvt. Ltd. Vs State of U.P. And 2 Others (Allahabad High Court)
Allahabad High Court has nullified a penalty imposed on Nokia Solutions and Networks India Pvt. Ltd. by the Commercial Tax Department, ruling that an incomplete e-way bill alone, without proven intent to evade tax, does not warrant such a penalty. The court’s decision, delivered in a writ petition filed by Nokia Solutions, sets aside both the initial penalty order and the subsequent appellate authority’s confirmation.
The case stemmed from an incident on June 19, 2018, when a vehicle transporting goods from Delhi to Meerut for Nokia Solutions was intercepted by tax authorities. The vehicle was carrying two consignments of telecommunications equipment destined for M/s Idea Cellular Limited, Mangal Pandey Nagar, Meerut. These consignments were covered by tax invoices no. 5204046997 and 5204046998, dated June 18, 2018, with values of approximately INR 1,16,583.98 and INR 22,77,755.98 respectively. IGST at a rate of 18% had been duly charged on both transactions.
According to the petitioner’s submissions, which were not disputed by the respondents, Nokia Solutions had prepared the invoices on June 18, 2018, and subsequently generated e-way bills for both transactions. These e-way bills, numbered 7710 1550 4255 and 7410 1550 4256, were valid until June 21, 2018. However, a critical detail, Part-B of the e-way bills which requires the vehicle number, remained uncompleted at the time of generation. This omission occurred because the transporter had not yet communicated the specific vehicle number to Nokia Solutions.
