TPJ Carriers Vs State of Karnataka (Karnataka High Court)
Summary: The petitioner, M/s. TPJ Carriers, was the owner of a 14-wheeler tanker bearing No. KL-40/S-7040, which had been hired by M/s. SVP Petro Products for transporting bulk bitumen. The conveyance was intercepted by the State GST Authorities, and orders were passed under Section 129 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. A penalty of Rs.23,86,590/- was imposed.
The petitioner, being the transporter, contended that it was entitled to release of the conveyance upon payment of Rs.1,00,000/-. The Court recorded that this amount was the lesser amount contemplated under the first proviso to Section 129(6) of the Act and that the petitioner had already paid Rs.1,00,000/-.
The writ petition was filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, seeking quashing of the adjudication order dated 28.04.2026 passed by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Enforcement), West Zone, Mangaluru, and a direction to release the lorry along with the goods in favour of the petitioner.
Before the High Court, the petitioner submitted that although the penalty order was approximately two and a half months old, the authorities had taken no action for sale of the goods. This, according to the petitioner, provided a cause for approaching the Court.
