9911796707
TMI Blog2009 (1) TMI 806X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... both the seizure and the penalty order. The admitted fact of the case in short is this. The petitioner, an unregistered dealer, brought by road transport to West Bengal his newly purchased excavator from outside West Bengal. It was intercepted and detained by respondent No. 1, Sales Tax Officer, on January 13, 2008 at Phansidewa More check-post. The driver of the vehicle carrying the excavator produced the consignment note and invoice. On January 15, 2008 at 10 p.m. it was seized on the ground of non-production of endorsed way bill it had entered through Chichira check-post. In pendency of this proceeding of this application a penalty of Rs. 16,36,200 under section 77 of the VAT Act, 2003 adding cost of Rs. 1,50,000 to the invoiced price o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... oods despatched from any place outside West Bengal shall not apply to a consignment of goods where such consignment of goods being transported by any person or on his account is his personal effects. The learned advocate Mrs. Chandrima Bhattacharya submitted that the personal effect not having been defined in the WBVAT Act or Rules thereto, it would mean that the articles or goods not meant for sale. Disputing this view the learned State Representative Mr. T.N. Banerjee cited the decision of this Tribunal in the case of Arunodoy Carriers Pvt. Ltd. v. C.T.O., Duburdih Check-post reported in [2004] 138 STC 464 (WBTT); [2003] 22 STA 23 and the unreported judgment of this Bench in the Case No. RN-56 of 2008 (Sri Kumar Singh v. STO Central Sec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... with the person. It is also stated that the 'personal effects' are used to designate articles associated with person, as property having more or less intimate relation to person of possessor or such tangible property as attends the person. In a case of H.H. Maharaja Rana Hemant Singhji v. Commissioner of Income-tax, Rajasthan reported in [1976] 103 ITR 61 (SC); AIR 1976 SC 662, the silver bars or bullion were not held to be the 'effects' meant for personal use. It was held, 'even the sovereigns and the silver coins which were alleged to have been customarily brought out of the iron safes and boxes on two special occasions, namely, the Astamis Day of "Sharadh Pakash" for Maha Laxmi Puja and for worship on the occasion of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 77(1) of the WBVAT Act, 2003. The value of the goods is as per rule 125(5) of the WBVAT Rules, 2005 is an approximate saleable value. So, the valuation done by the Sales Tax Officer is as per the provision of law and as such it cannot be interfered with. Mrs. Bhattacharya contended that the production of invoice and consignment note led to presume that the petitioner had no intention to evade payment of tax and when the object of the legislation is to prevent evasion of payment of tax, penalty in the present case should not have been awarded. The learned State Representative Mr. Banerjee while supporting the impugned penalty order relied on the decision of the honourable Supreme Court in the case of Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer v. Ba ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ny kind of special circumstances justifying production of blank declarations. The Supreme Court was of the view that the declarations were kept blank so that they could use it for any consignment as and when required. Even in Guljag Industries [2007] 9 VST 1, the Supreme Court considered the possible effect of the infringement." In paragraph 6 of the said judgment the honourable Bench of this Tribunal observed, "as already pointed out, all these regulatory measurers for transport of goods have been introduced with the object of preventing evasion or possibility of evasion of tax. In several decisions this Tribunal has taken the view that unless there was any possibility of evasion of tax or actual evasion of tax, mere technical infringement ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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