An order passed by the GST department, confiscating a truck and its goods without following mandatory process, has been set aside by a bench of Justices HN Devani and SK Vishen of the Gujarat High court.

As per the details of the case, Jamnagar-based Isha Trading company dispatched order of brass electrical parts via Jay Gujarat Goods Carrier. The driver of the truck furnished invoice, e-way bill and lorry receipt while transporting goods from Jamnagar to Delhi.

The truck was intercepted by the State Tax Officer on January 14 this year at Soyal Toll Gate. Though the driver produced all relevant documents, the officer detained the truck claiming the genuineness of the goods in transit (its quantity etc) and tendered documents required further verification.

The officer later seized the truck as well as goods contained therein.

Petitioner’s lawyer Chetan Pandya submitted that the documents which were required to be carried by the driver were duly produced at the toll plaza. While Form GST MOV-02 was issued by the officer stating that physical verification of the goods is required, no report in Part A of Form GST EWB 03 was uploaded on the GST portal. Also, no report in Form GST MOV-04 of any physical verification was furnished to his client.

As per circular no 41/15/2018-GST dated April 13, 2018, issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, GST Policy Wing is required to follow norms while intercepting goods.

According to the circular, if upon verification of the documents and goods, no discrepancy is found, the conveyance shall be allowed to move further.

The petitioner said the relevant documents were duly produced and no discrepancy had been found. Although the conveyance was detained for inspection of goods, no inspection appeared to have been carried out. It was submitted that in the absence of any discrepancy, it was not permissible for the officer to detain the conveyance any longer or to proceed under section 129 or 130 of the CGST Act. The court upheld the argument and set aside the order issued by the GST.

Published On : 22-10-2019

Source : Ahmedabad Mirror