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TMI Blog2018 (4) TMI 807X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... l before the Addl. Commissioner, Grade II (Appeal) under section 107 of the U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017, however, Sri Pradeep Agarwal, learned counsel for the petitioner responded by submitting that the very basis for the impugned action i.e. Rule 138 of U.P.G.S.T. Rules 2017 and the notification issued by the State Government thereunder as also section 129 of U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017 was apparently inapplicable, therefore, the preliminary objection is not tenable. The facts of the case in brief are that 220 pieces of Chocholate Display Cooler of M/s Voltas Ltd. were being transported from Pant Nagar, Rudrapur, Uddham Singh Nagar, State of Uttarakhand to Radiant Enterprises, Megaflex Plastic Ltd., Kolkata, West Bengal, with Tax Invoice No.117351003728, a copy of which is annexed as Annexure-1 and 2 to the writ petition. It is said that Integrated Goods and Services Tax (hereinafter referred as ''I.G.S.T.') at the rate of 28% was duly paid on the said inter-state supply of goods. During the course of movement of these goods through the State of U.P. the consignment was intercepted at Lucknow on 17.12.2017 and the goods as well as documents were checked, whereupon, a T.D.F. Form was ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e purpose of transportation, especially as, they revealed that it was an inter-State supply of goods and the I.G.S.T. at the rate of 28% had already been paid. As regards the allegation of a fabricated T.D.F. Form being carried by the driver he submitted that the driver was an uneducated person and at the time of entry of the vehicle in the State of U.P. at Rampur under a misconception he got a T.D.F. Form downloaded from a cyber-cafe, which contained some incorrect details on account of lapse on the part of Cyber Cafe Owner, but there was no mala fide at all in this regard. In fact, the T.D.F. Form was not required to be carried as it was an inter-state supply of goods. He invited our attention to paragraph 16 to 22 and 25 of the writ petition. On the other hand, Sri Rahul Shukla, learned Addl. C.S.C. appearing for the State contended that under section 6 of the C.G.S.T. Act 2017 there was a provision for cross empowerment of the State Authorities under the State Goods and Services Tax Act to function as ''proper officers' for the purposes of the C.G.S.T. Act also. Likewise a similar provision existed in the U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017. Furthermore he contended that both the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... about the fact that by virtue of section 4 of the I.G.S.T. Act 2017 the officers appointed under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act are authorized to be the proper officers for the purposes of the said Act, subject to such exceptions and conditions as the Government shall, on the recommendations of the Council by notification, specify. Similarly for enforcement of C.G.S.T. Act 2017 by virtue of section 6 thereof State Authorities under U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017 are also empowered to enforce C.G.S.T. Act 2017. It is also not in dispute that by virtue of section 20(xv) of the ''I.G.S.T. Act 2017' the provisions of ''C.G.S.T. Act 2017' apply in respect of matters covered by the I.G.S.T. Act 2017 on the subject of inspection, search, seizure and arrest. Chapter XIV of the C.G.S.T. Act 2017 deals with inspection, search, seizure and arrest. While section 67 of C.G.S.T. Act 2017 deals with the power of inspection, search and seizure, section 68 deals with inspection of goods in movement and it is this provision with which we are primarily concerned. It reads as under: "68. Inspection of goods in movement (1) The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ement as is referred in section 68 of the C.G.S.T. Act 2017 and Rule 138 of the C.G.S.T. Rules 2017. In fact, Dr. Deepti Tripathi, learned counsel for the Government of India made a categorical statement on the basis of instructions that T.D.F. Form was not required to be carried for movement of inter-State goods to which the I.G.S.T. Act 2017 applies. In fact, as per Dr. Deepti Tripathi, learned Advocate appearing for the Government of India, C.G.S.T. Rules 2017 were amended on 30th August 2017 and vide another notification dated 29.12.2017 this amendment containing the E-way Bill system was to come into force from 1.2.2018, but, the notification dated 29th December 2017 was rescinded by a subsequent notification dated 2.2.2018. Thereafter the notification dated 7th March 2018 has been issued regarding E-way Bill System. Thus, E-way bill system has been prescribed only recently by a notification of the Government of India dated 7th March 2018 whereby Rule 138 of the C.G.S.T. Rules 2017 has been amended and other Rules have been incorporated in this regard. These amendments are to come into force from a date to be specified by the Central Government. Be that as it may, the fact o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that they can apply the provisions of U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017 or Rules made thereunder to cases of inter-State trade in violation of section 20(xv) of I.G.S.T. Act 2017. It does not mean that the State Government can issue a notification under Rule 138 of U.P.G.S.T. Rules made under U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017 to prescribe documents to be carried in an inter-state supply of goods and services regarding which only the Central Government has the power under section 20(xv) of I.G.S.T. Act 2017 read with section 68 of C.G.S.T. Act 2017 and Rule 138 of C.G.S.T. Rules 2017. The fact that the authorities under the State Act were empowered to exercise the powers under the C.G.S.T. Act 2017, assuming it to be so, is inconsequential, as, it is not their jurisdiction to exercise power of seizure which is under question, but, the manner in which they have exercised it on the basis of an inapplicable provision of law, as, they have proceeded on the presumption that T.D.F. Form-1 prescribed under a notification issued by the State Government under Rule 138 of the Rules made under the U.P.G.S.T. Act 2017, was required to be carried, which is not the requirement in law. For this very reason the judgment dat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nsporter of the goods in the course of interstate movement. Under the said circumstances, and finding that neither the State Legislature nor the State Government would have the power to make laws/rules to govern interstate movement of goods in the course of trade, and for the purposes of levy of tax, I am of the view that detention in Ext.P.5, for the sole reason that the transportation was not accompanied by the prescribed documents under the IGST Act/CGST Act/CGST Rules, cannot be legally sustained. I therefore, allow the writ petition by making the interim order absolute." Furthermore, we find that alongwith the consignment of goods the driver was carrying an invoice which mentioned that the goods were being taken from the State of Uttarakhand to the State of West Bengal, therefore, as of now, it was an inter-State trade and there is nothing on record to show otherwise. The assertion that I.G.S.T. had already been paid, has also not been denied by the opposite parties nor that both the consignor and consignee are registered dealers. Moreover, the requisite details having been mentioned in the invoice etc. the same would be verified at the point of destination and accordingly th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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