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2020 (11) TMI 421 - HC - GSTDetention of goods and vehicle - detention was for the reason that the vehicle was apprehended at a place that was not on the normal route between Kanyakumari and Maharashtra - HELD THAT:- It is now settled through a catena of decisions of this Court as well as the other High Courts that Sections 129 and 130 are independent provisions, and that, while a detention of goods and vehicle under Section 129 could entail proceedings under Section 130, in situations where the detained goods/vehicle are not cleared by the owners thereof within a period of 14 days from the date of passing of the order under Section 129, it does not follow that in all cases where Section 130 of the GST Act is invoked, they have to be preceded by a detention of the goods/vehicle while in transit. As already noted, the proceedings under Section 130 can be invoked independent of any detention, and under the circumstances enumerated in the said Section, with the only rider that a precondition for the invocation of the provision is that there has to be material to suggest that the actions/omissions of the person were with an intention to evade payment of tax. In the instant case, while the material collected by the respondents, no doubt justify the detention of the goods and the vehicle, inasmuch as there was evidence to suggest that the transportation did not originate from Tamil Nadu, as was declared in the invoice/e-way bill that accompanied the transportation of the goods, and therefore, the said documents could be seen as invalid documents for the purposes of transportation of the goods, the respondents have not been able to establish an intention to evade tax which is a necessary pre- condition for invoking the provisions of Section 130 of the GST Act. In other words, while in the instant cases, the detention under Section 129 can be said to be justified, the further invocation of Section 130, in the absence of any material to suggest that there was an evasion of tax by the petitioners, cannot be said to be justified. While it may be true that the invocation of Section 130 of the GST Act in these cases was not justified, the irregularity in the documents that accompanied the transportation surely make it out to be a case that justified a detention of the goods under Section 129 of the GST Act. In proceedings under Section 129 of the GST Act, there is no requirement for establishing mens rea, and hence, merely on detecting an irregularity in the documents that are to accompany the transportation of goods, the respondents would be justified in detaining the goods and passing the necessary order under Section 129(3) of the GST Act - The proceedings under Section 130 having been found to be misconceived, the respondents must now be permitted to pass formal orders under Section 129(3), in respect of the detention that I have found to be justified on the facts and circumstances of these cases. The respondents are directed to pass orders based on the material available with them, and the statements taken from the petitioners under Section 129(3) of the GST Act - petition allowed.
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