On the Road with GST: What Happens When Authorities Stop Your Truck?

[Pradeep Reddy]

 GST was supposed to be Good and Simple. While it has indeed brought uniformity in taxes across states, the “simple” part? Not quite there yet. 😅

⚠️ A common nightmare for businesses is when 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘁 over small document issues.

⚠️ 𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:

Your goods are in transit, and a small mistake halts them. A missed digit on an e-way bill or an operational change in a delivery order could result in penalties up to 200% of the GST involved.

𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀:

An invoice reads 16/2024-25, but the e-way bill says 0162024-25.

A truck is scheduled to deliver to City A, then City B. Due to operational reasons, it switches the order.

𝗜𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀, 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗚𝗦𝗧—𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝘆 𝗮 𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 200% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱.

💡 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄:

📑 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 68 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗰𝘁: Goods worth ₹50,000+ need proper documents during transit.
🚚 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 129 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗚𝗦𝗧 𝗔𝗰𝘁: Goods can be stopped for missing papers and released only after paying a penalty.
✅ 𝗖𝗕𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Small mistakes like spelling errors or minor vehicle detail mismatches shouldn’t attract heavy penalties.

⚖️ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗮𝗶𝗱:

❌ No penalties for small mistakes if 𝗻𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗲𝘃𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 is shown.
📅 Penalty notices should be given 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 7 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 of detaining goods.
📆 Just an expired e-way bill alone 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 for a heavy penalty.

📖 𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗧𝗼𝗼:

📋 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 138𝗕 & 138𝗖: GST officers can stop vehicles for document checks.
📦 𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 138𝗔: Goods over ₹50,000 need an invoice, e-way bill, and other key documents.
📢 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗡𝗼. 41/15/2018: Explains when and how officers can stop vehicles and what penalties apply for missing documents.

✅ 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀:

📑 Always generate e-way bills, even for small shipments.
💻 Use automated accounting tools to avoid errors.
🎯 Train your team on GST documentation rules.
📑 Include clauses in contracts to shift penalty responsibility to transporters or suppliers.

🚚 𝗦𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀?

Authorities might cite frivolous reasons to detain goods. In such cases, you may need to pay penalties upfront and file an appeal to recover the amount.