The West Bengal Goods and Services Tax ( WBGST ) Act’s section 129 penalty was imposed by the appellate authority, and the Calcutta High Court (HC), presided over by Justice Amrita Sinha, upheld this decision.
According to the GST Act, a valid E-way bill is required for the transportation of goods. Also, it is the responsibility of the transport to extend the EWB while in transit.
The petitioner was moving products in accordance with an e-way law that was created on April 23, 2022. The petitioner claims that the check post authority purposefully delayed giving the vehicle a gate pass allowing it to depart the check post despite receiving all required documentation in connection with the consignment.
The E-way bill eventually expired on April 30, 2022, and the vehicle received a gate pass on May 2, 2022.
On the way to the final destination, the same was intercepted and being found that there wasn’t a valid e-way bill, Form GST MOV-01 and GST MOV 02 were issued with a prima facie opinion that the consignment was not supported by any valid documents.
The West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act of 2017’s Section 129 proposed the imposition of a fine along with a detention order in Form GST MOV 06 and a show cause notice in Form GST MOV 07 issued in the driver’s name.
The petitioner argued that because he was not at all to blame for the check post’s failure to issue the gate pass in a timely manner, the penalty should not have been assessed.
The respondent, on the other hand, claimed that it is illegal under the law to carry any items without a current E-way bill. When the car was stopped by the authorities, a fine was imposed because no legitimate E-way bill could be shown.
The bench stated that it is against the law to transport specific items beyond a specified distance without a valid E-way bill. Before the products were transported, the petitioner, who was aware of the legal obligation, created the E-way bill.
Furthermore, it was noted that every transporter must electronically submit the product information on the common portal before starting the movement of goods valued at more than Rs. 50,000, and the commodities must be moved within the validity time noted in the E-way bill.
The bench stated that although the petitioner could or might not bear direct blame for the delayed gate pass issuing, he is unquestionably at fault for conveying goods without a valid E-way bill.
The HC observed that the penalty was properly levied by the authorities in accordance with section 129 of the WBGST Act.
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