2007 (2) TMI 621 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues:
Penalty under section 13A(4) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 for omission of goods in the accounts registers and other documents.

Analysis:
The case involved a revision under section 11 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948, challenging the penalty imposed under section 13A(4) for the assessment year 1996-97. The Tribunal confirmed the order of the first appellate authority deleting the penalty. The dealer's vehicle loaded with supari was inspected, leading to the detention of goods and a penalty notice under section 13A(3) was issued. The assessing authority imposed the penalty based on irregular serial numbers of bills issued by the dealer. The first appellate authority set aside the penalty order as the bill entry was found in the books of account, a decision upheld by the Tribunal.

The learned Standing Counsel argued that the penalty was rightly levied due to irregular serial numbers and the dealer's failure to produce books of account. However, the court disagreed, citing section 13A(4) of the Act which allows a penalty if goods are omitted from accounts. In this case, although the books were not produced for verification, the penalty cannot be solely based on that. The Trade Tax Officer should have conducted a thorough inspection or summoned the books. Moreover, no query was raised regarding the irregular serial numbers, and since the bill entry was recorded in the books, the penalty was unjustified.

In conclusion, the court held that the penalty under section 13A(4) was not warranted as the goods were not omitted from the accounts, and the entry was duly found in the books of account. Therefore, the revision was dismissed, upholding the decisions of the appellate authorities.