Case Law Details
Mohammed Shereef Vs State of Kerala (Kerala High Court)
The issue under consideration is whether non-registration of the consignor or the alleged mis-classification of the goods under transportation can be a ground for detention under Section 129 of the GST Act?
High Court states that it is not in dispute that there was a valid e-way bill covering the transportation in question and the said e-way bill clearly described the product as falling under HSN Code 910. No doubt, the consignor being an unregistered person, and the goods supplied by him to the petitioner being exempted goods, the transportation had to be covered not only by an e-way bill but also by a delivery challan, and since the transportation was not covered by a delivery challan, the respondents were justified in detaining the consignment. The question however arises as to what would be the liability of the petitioner who seeks to get a release of the goods that are detained under Section 129. In the instant case, if this Court ignores the classification issue as also the non-registration issue which are not relevant for the purposes of Section 129 of the Act, then it is the provisions of Section 129(1)(b) that would apply for the purposes of determining the deposit that the petitioner would have to make for obtaining a clearance of the goods and the vehicle. On applying the said provision, the petitioner would have to pay the lesser of an amount equal to 5% of the value of the goods or Rs.25,000/-. In the instant case, the value of the goods being approximately Rs.10 lakhs, the lesser amount would be Rs.25,000/- which amount the petitioner would necessarily have to pay to obtain a release of the goods and the vehicle. HC therefore dispose the writ petition by directing the respondents to release the goods and the vehicle to the petitioner on the petitioner paying an amount of Rs.25,000/-, as required in terms of Section 129(1)(b) read with Section 129(3) of the GST Act.
Also Read order Passed on Review Petition- No penalty under SGST in case of Interstate Transaction
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