9911796707
TMI Blog1970 (7) TMI 73X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e case, are these: The assessee is a registered dealer who manufactures bidis for sale. During the period 1962-63 the assessee purchased goods worth Rs. 18,816 after furnishing declarations that those goods were to be used in the manufacture of other goods for resale. These goods, which were bardana, jhilli, paper, labels, motor tyres and tubes, were not specified in the assessee's registration certificate as being required for use in the manufacture or processing of goods for resale. That constituted a breach of clause (b) of section 10 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. Therefore, the Sales Tax Officer, Rewa, levied on the assessee, after giving him an opportunity of being heard, a penalty of Rs. 1,000 under section 10A of that Act. In d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e defeated by construing the section as embracing the element of mens rea. In most cases it would not be in doubt that the article purchased under 'C' form is not entered in the registration certificate and in such cases it will be easy to infer that the false representation by furnishing. the declaration in 'C' form was knowingly or intentionally made. But cases cannot be ruled out where it may be a matter of bona fide dispute whether a particular article purchased by a dealer fell within 'the class or classes of goods' specified in his registration certificate. There is nothing in the section to show that the Legislature intended to punish a dealer who honestly though incorrectly represented that a particular article fell within the descr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Madras [1968] 21 S.T.C. 480. Their Lordships observed at "Section 10(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act punishes a person with a term of imprisonment or fine or with both who 'being a registered dealer falsely represents when purchasing any class of goods that goods of such class are covered by his certificate of registration'. The phrase 'falsely represents, as we think, clearly indicates that the falsity of the representation should be with the knowledge of the representator. If he is under an honest belief that what he represents is true, he cannot be said to make a false representation. It appears to us that the gravamen of the offence is the representation of something as true which, in fact and to the knowledge of the representator, is f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... posed for failure to perform a statutory obligation is a matter of discretion of the authority to be exercised judicially and on a consideration of all the relevant circumstances. Even if a minimum penalty is prescribed, the authority competent to impose the penalty will be justified in refusing to impose penalty, when there is a technical or venial breach of the provisions of the Act or where the breach flows from a bona fide belief that the offender is not liable to act in the manner prescribed by the statute. Those in charge of the affairs of the company in failing to register the company as a dealer acted in the honest and genuine belief that the company was not a dealer. Granting that they erred, no case for imposing penalty was made o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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