2018 (3) TMI 1450 - HC - GST

Detention of goods - it was alleged that there was no nexus between the documents accompanied and actual goods under transport - Held that - the Intelligence Inspector shall made a fresh assessment recomputing the value of the goods and shall compute the CGST and SGST payable together with penalty. On payment of 50% of such demand along with execution of a simple bond for the balance amounts, the goods shall be released - petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues: Detention of goods by tax authorities, discrepancy in goods transported, computation of tax liabilities, release of goods upon payment.

In this case, the petitioner challenged the detention of goods by the Intelligence Inspector of the Department of Commercial Taxes. The petitioner claimed that the goods were purchased with proper tax payments, as evidenced by the invoices. However, upon inspection, it was found that the goods being transported did not match the description in the accompanying documents. The discrepancy was noted in the quantity and type of plywood being transported. As a result, a notice was issued to the petitioner regarding this mismatch.

The court noted that since the invoice covered a specific quantity of 12mm plywood, the excess goods found during inspection, along with the 10mm and 15mm plywoods, should be considered for estimating the value of the suppressed goods. The Intelligence Inspector was directed to conduct a fresh assessment to compute the CGST and SGST payable, along with any penalties. The court ordered the release of the goods upon payment of 50% of the demand and execution of a bond for the remaining amount. The computation of the tax liabilities and penalties was to be completed within two weeks from the date of the judgment.

Ultimately, the writ petition was disposed of with no costs imposed on either party.