Separate penalty for each omitted bill under sales tax law, with the statutory ceiling applying per contravention.

Section 27(1) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 requires a dealer crossing the prescribed turnover limit to issue a bill or cash memorandum for each qualifying sale, and section 27(2) limits the penalty for contravention to double the relevant bill amount or Rs. 50, whichever is less. The provision treats each failure to issue the required document as a separate contravention. Accordingly, where multiple sales transactions in an accounting period are left undocumented, each omission attracts a distinct penalty within the statutory limit, and the Rs. 50 ceiling applies separately to each bill or cash memorandum, not as one aggregate cap for the period.

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Issues: Whether the maximum penalty of Rs. 50 under section 27(2) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 applies to each bill or cash memorandum in respect of which there is a contravention of section 27(1), or whether it is a single ceiling for all contraventions committed during one accounting period.

Analysis: Section 27(1) obliges a dealer crossing the prescribed turnover limit to issue a bill or cash memorandum for each qualifying sale, and section 27(2) authorises penalty for contravention of that obligation up to double the amount of the relevant bill or cash memorandum or Rs. 50, whichever is less. The statutory language treats each omission to issue a bill or cash memorandum as a separate contravention. Where several sales transactions are involved in the accounting period, failure to issue the required documents gives rise to as many distinct defaults, each separately liable to penalty within the statutory limit.

Conclusion: The maximum penalty of Rs. 50 is attracted in relation to each separate bill or cash memorandum in respect of which section 27(1) is contravened, and not as an aggregate ceiling for all contraventions during the accounting period.

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