Kartar Singh v. Commissioner, Uttarakhand State GST Commissionerate
In the High Court of Uttarakhand
WP (M/S) 924/2023
Before Justice Ravindra Maithani
Decided on July 18, 2023

Relevancy of the Case: Does the failure to carry an e-way bill for transporting goods amount to tax evasion?

Statutes and Provisions Involved

• The Uttarakhand/Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (Section 130, 164(4), 138)
• The Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (Rule 138A)

Relevant Facts of the Case

• The petitioner was transporting certain taxable goods on behalf of a firm on the Kashipur highway.
• The state tax mobile unit intercepted the petitioner’s vehicle. They inspected the goods and asked the petitioner to produce an e-way bill, which he failed to do.
• They issued a show cause notice to the petitioner under Section 138 that required him to pay the penalty or show why his vehicle should not be confiscated. There was no reply from the petitioner’s side.
• Three weeks later, the authority issued a fine and confiscated the vehicle under Section 130 of the Uttarakhand Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
• In this petition, the petitioner has challenged the above order.

Prominent Arguments by the Advocates

• The petitioner’s counsel argued that:
  • Firstly, confiscating a vehicle cannot occur solely due to failure to carry an e-way bill. The authority must prove the intention to evade tax.
  • Secondly, that intention to evade tax has not been proved for the attraction of Section 130.
• The respondent’s counsel submitted that multiple factors show the petitioner’s intention to evade tax, such as not being on the correct highway, failure to carry an e-way bill, cancellation of the firm’s registration, etc.

Opinion of the Bench

• Rule 138A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, states that anyone transporting the goods must also hold the e-way bill.
• The petitioner’s intention to evade tax was proved by considering factors presented by the respondent.
• The bench concluded that there was evident intent to evade tax.

Final Decision

• The bench dismissed the writ petition.

Arnav Kaman, an undergraduate student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab, prepared this case summary during his internship with The Cyber Blog India in January/February 2024.