GST Authority Goods cannot detain goods just because of Mismatch quantity during roadside checking

The High Court Of Punjab And Haryana recently quashed proceedings against the petitioner under Section 129 of the Act. As per the court, GST Authority Goods cannot detain goods just because of Mismatch quantity during roadside checking when he has paid the right amount of tax.

As per Deputy Advocate General, Haryana discrepancy was found during physical verification in the actual quantity and the quantity shown in the Invoice and e-way bill. The actual quantity was found to be 90 kgs. 700 gms. more than what has been found as per the Invoice. Thus, she claims that by showing lesser quantity the petitioner intended to evade.

As per the Court, from the perusal of the e-Invoice, it is clear that the quantity of consigned goods is shown to be 10430.7 kilograms. An amount of 1276717.68/- has been paid as tax on the consignment whereas as per the State, it was 10520 kilograms. The said difference in weight is less than 1%. As per State, the alleged evasion shall not be more than Rs.11000/-.

Court Further added that a person, who has already paid a tax of Rs.1276717.68/- on a consignment cannot be said to have an intent to evade tax amounting to Rs.11000/-.

The Bench of Judges Ajay Tewari and Pankaj Jain allowed the writ in light of the fair stand taken by the petitioner and the fact that the mismatch cannot be termed as a contravention of the provisions of the Act.