9911796707
TMI Blog2022 (1) TMI 381X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the intention was to evade tax. Sometime, change of route may assume importance provided there is cogent material with the department to indicate that an attempt was sought to be made to dispose of the goods indirectly at a particular place. If such is the case, then probably, the authority may be justified in initiating appropriate proceedings, but mere change of route of the vehicle by itself is not sufficient. Goods being transported is undervalued - HELD THAT:- No material has been placed on record. Even otherwise, as held by this Court as well as other High Courts, it is a settled legal position that undervaluation cannot be a ground for seizure of goods in transit by the inspecting authority. In the instant case, there is no suc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... merges from the record are reproduced as under: 4. The petitioner No.1 is a seller of the goods (Arecanut) and a registered dealer under the GST. It is the case of the petitioner No.1 that the goods were to be sold by the petitioner No.1 to the buyer who was having the office premises in Ahmedabad. It is undisputed that the petitioner No.1 is a duly registered dealer under the GST Act. So far as the petitioner No.2 is concerned, he claims to be the owner of the Truck bearing registration No.KA 18 C 2681 on which the instant goods were to be transported. 5. The consignment was intercepted by the respondent No.3 on 20th November 2021 at around 11:40 AM at Changodar Road, Navapura. The statement of the driver / person in charge of the ve ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d December 2021. The same reads thus: 1. Petitioner is before this Court seeking to challenge the action of the respondent authority by way of the following reliefs: 43. In view f the above, the Petitioner most humbly prays that: It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon ble Court may graciously be pleased to issue a Writ, Order or Direction in the nature of: (a) Certiorari quashing the MOV-10 (Confiscation notice dated 04.12.21 (Annexure-A to the Writ Petition); (b) Mandamus directing the Respondent no.3 to forthwith release the goods and vehicle without demanding any security; (c) Pending notice, admission and final hearing of this petition, this Hon ble Court may be pleased to direct the lear ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... way of objection, which has not been considered. 3. The petitioner has shown inclination to pay tax and penalty. Let the request be made to the concerned officer, who will consider without being deterred by the pendency of this petition. Any order passed will not have a tendency of creating any equity in favour of either parties. 4. Notice returnable on 05.01.2022. 5. Over and above the regular mode, direct service by way of Speed Post or E-mode is also permitted. 9. In response to the notice issued by this Court, learned A.G.P. Mr. Utkarsh Sharma has appeared on behalf of the State authorities. 10. Learned advocate Mr. Samir Gupta assisted by learned advocate Mr. Monal S. Chaglani has appeared for the petitioners ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the fact that the details in the invoice bill as well as in the e-way bill matched the products found in the vehicle at the time of inspection except for the price of sale. 11. The learned advocate has further relied upon the decisions of the Kerala High Court in the case of Podaran foods India Pvt Ltd vs. State of Kerala reported in 2021 (50) GSTL 412 (Ker) as well as in the case of Kannangayathu Metals vs. Assistant State Tax Officer, SGST Deptt, T hiruvananthapuram reported in 2 019 (3 1) GST L 3 91 (Ker). 12. On the other hand, learned A.G.P. Mr. Sharma has vehemently objected to the grant of relief in favour of the petitioners by submitting that the route preferred by the the petitioner No.1 reflects that he had intention t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eleased at the earliest and handed over to the writ applicants. 15. We clarify that we have quashed the entire confiscation proceedings keeping in mind two things: first, mere change of route without anything more would not necessarily be sufficient to draw an inference that the intention was to evade tax. Sometime, change of route may assume importance provided there is cogent material with the department to indicate that an attempt was sought to be made to dispose of the goods indirectly at a particular place. If such is the case, then probably, the authority may be justified in initiating appropriate proceedings, but mere change of route of the vehicle by itself is not sufficient. In the same manner, mere undervaluation of the goods a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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