Reasonable opportunity before seizure of goods is mandatory under sales tax law; instant seizure makes penalty unsustainable.

Section 70 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 permits seizure of transported goods only after the person concerned is first given a reasonable opportunity, within the permitted detention period, to furnish the prescribed particulars under section 68. Instantaneous seizure on interception, without that opportunity, is contrary to the statutory scheme and therefore invalid. Because the seizure itself was unlawful, the foundation for the penalty proceedings was removed, and the consequential penalty order could not stand.

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Issues: Whether seizure of the consignment under section 70 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 was lawful when the goods were seized immediately on interception without a reasonable opportunity to produce the prescribed permit, and whether the penalty imposed under section 71 could survive if the seizure was invalid.

Analysis: Section 70 contemplates detention of the vehicle and thereafter seizure only if the person bringing, importing or receiving the goods fails to furnish the particulars required under section 68. The statutory scheme does not permit instantaneous seizure on interception; a reasonable opportunity must first be afforded to produce the permit or other prescribed particulars, subject to the outer limit of 24 hours. The record accepted by the authority showed that the consignment was seized as and when intercepted, and therefore the statutory requirement of giving an opportunity was not complied with. Since the seizure itself was contrary to the Act, the foundation of the penalty proceedings was also removed.

Conclusion: The seizure was illegal, and the penalty order could not stand.

Ratio Decidendi: Under section 70 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994, seizure of transported goods is valid only after the person concerned is given a reasonable opportunity, within the permissible detention period, to furnish the prescribed particulars under section 68; an instantaneous seizure without such opportunity is invalid and renders consequential penalty proceedings unsustainable.

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