Penalty for alleged evasion fails when transport documents are genuine and missing statutory form is satisfactorily explained.

Penalty under section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act is not justified where the consignment is covered by genuine transport and commercial documents and the statutory form is produced before seizure or its temporary absence is satisfactorily explained by transhipment. The dealer cannot be penalised merely on the driver's alleged conduct or statement unless there is evidence linking that conduct to the dealer and showing intent to evade tax. On the stated facts, the record did not disclose an attempt to evade assessment or tax, so the penalty was quashed in full.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act was justified where the consignment was accompanied by all other documents and form XXXI was later produced, and whether the dealer could be penalised for the driver's conduct.

Analysis: The goods were accompanied by the excise gate pass, invoice and goods receipt showing the origin and destination of the consignment. Form XXXI was produced before seizure and there was material showing transhipment of the goods en route, which explained the temporary non-availability of the form. The finding that the form was prepared later was unsupported by evidence. The driver's alleged attempt to avoid the check-post and his statement could not, without more, establish a guilty intention on the part of the dealer, particularly when the driver was not shown to be the dealer's employee and the transporter was a common carrier. In these circumstances, the record did not disclose an attempt to evade assessment or tax.

Conclusion: The penalty under section 15-A(1)(o) was not sustainable and was liable to be quashed in full.

Final Conclusion: The revision succeeded and the penalty levied on the dealer was set aside in entirety.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the consignment is otherwise supported by genuine transport and commercial documents and the statutory form is produced promptly or the omission is satisfactorily explained, penalty cannot be imposed absent evidence of intent to evade tax.

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