M/S. S. P. Traders vs. The Asst. State Tax Officer
Held
The Court, through an interim order, directed the authorities to verify if IGST was correctly shown in monthly returns and consider a minor penalty if so. Following this, the petitioner voluntarily paid a reduced penalty of Rs. 50,000/-, leading to the release of goods. The Court held that the petitioner could not subsequently challenge this order after willingly complying with the interim direction.
Facts
The petitioner's consignment of scrap machinery was intercepted, and goods/vehicle detained under Section 129 of the GST Act. The authorities alleged a mistake in the invoice, showing CGST/SGST instead of IGST, despite the E-way bill correctly reflecting IGST, leading to a demand for penalty.
Key Issues
Whether a penalty under Section 129 was justified for a clerical error in the invoice regarding tax type (CGST/SGST instead of IGST) when the E-way bill was correct. Also, whether a petitioner can challenge an order imposing a penalty after voluntarily agreeing to and paying it pursuant to a court's interim direction.
Sections Cited
Section 129, Section 31
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE C.S.DIAS MONDAY, THE 26TH DAY OF JUNE 2023 / 5TH ASHADHA, 1945 WP(C) NO. 25509 OF 2022 PETITIONER/S: M/S. S. P. TRADERS AGED 44 YEARS D . NO .56 / 77 / 6-A, SULTHANPET, MANGALAM ROAD, TIRUPPUR, TAMILNADU REPRESENTED BY ITS PARTNER ANPU, PIN - 641663 BY ADV P.N.DAMODARAN NAMBOODIRI RESPONDENT/S: 1 THE ASST. STATE TAX OFFICER SURVEILLANCE SQUAD , STATE GST DEPARTMENT, VAZHIKKADAVU, MALAPPURAM, PIN - 679505 2 THE STATE TAX OFFICER, SURVEILLANCE SQUAD, STATE GST DEPARTMENT, VAZHIKKADAVU, MALAPPURAM ., PIN - 679505 3 THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (INT.), STATE GST DEPARTMENT, VAZHIKKADAVU, MALAPPURAM, PIN - 679505 OTHER PRESENT: SR G P SMT THUSHARA JAMES THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 26.06.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C) NO. 25509 OF 2022 2 JUDGMENT The writ petition is filed to quash Exts.P7 and P13 orders passed by the 1st respondent detaining the goods with the vehicle, and demanding the petitioner to remit an exorbitant penalty.
The petitioner's case is that, he is a registered taxable person under the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (in short,
The judgment continues below.
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