Discretionary penalty for non-production of documents requires consideration of reasonable cause; later production alone is insufficient.

Penalty for non-production of documents during a check under section 28-A of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act is discretionary, not automatic, and the authority must consider the dealer's explanation and whether reasonable cause existed for the default. Subsequent production of the documents alone does not justify the penalty. A revisional order that mechanically sustains the maximum penalty without evaluating the explanation or the statutory show-cause process under section 28-A(4) is inconsistent with the scheme and object of section 28-A(5). The penalty was therefore not sustainable.

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Issues: Whether penalty for non-production of documents during check under section 28-A of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 was justified, and whether the revisional authority could sustain the penalty merely because the documents were produced subsequently.

Analysis: Penalty under section 28-A is not automatic. The statutory scheme contemplates consideration of the explanation offered for non-production of documents and confers a discretionary power, with opportunity to show cause under section 28-A(4). The authority must examine whether there was reasonable cause for the non-production and cannot proceed solely on the basis that the documents were later produced. A revisional order under section 22-A that ignores the explanation and mechanically affirms the maximum penalty does not accord with the scheme and object of section 28-A(5).

Conclusion: The penalty could not be sustained on the sole ground of subsequent production of documents, and the revisional order was set aside in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The appeal succeeded and the penalty order did not survive.

Ratio Decidendi: Penalty for non-production of documents under section 28-A of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 is discretionary and can be imposed only after considering the explanation and whether reasonable cause existed for the default; subsequent production of the documents by itself does not justify penalty.

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