Penalty under sales tax law not justified where inter-State consignment details were fully disclosed and no material suppression was shown.

Penalty under section 29A(4) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act was held unsustainable where consignments moved from Tamil Nadu to Kerala with full particulars disclosed in form D issued by the assessing authority. The assessee had not suppressed any material fact, and both the assessing authority and the consignee were aware of the movement of goods. The factual setting was distinguished from the earlier precedent relied on by the Tribunal, where likely tax escape was inferred from the consignee's ignorance and the interception circumstances. On these facts, the penalty was rightly set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether penalty could be sustained under section 29A(4) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 on the facts of the consignment and the works contract.

Analysis: The consignments were moved from Tamil Nadu to Kerala with full particulars disclosed in form D, which had been issued by the assessing authority. The assessing authority and the consignee were aware of the movement of goods, and no material fact was withheld by the consignor. The facts were materially different from the earlier case relied on by the Tribunal, where an inference of likely tax escape was drawn from the consignee's ignorance and the circumstances of interception.

Conclusion: Penalty under section 29A(4) was not justified on these facts and was rightly set aside in favour of the assessee.

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