Clerical defect in transport declaration form did not justify sales tax penalty where accompanying documents were genuine.

A bona fide clerical defect in declaration form ST-18A did not justify penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 where the goods in transit were supported by genuine bill, bilty and other accompanying documents. The appellate authorities had concurrently treated the incomplete or corrected declaration as a clerical error, and the High Court found no basis to interfere because no question of law arose under section 86. Penalty was therefore not payable on the facts, and the revision petition failed.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 was imposable where the goods in transit were accompanied by bill and bilty and the declaration form ST-18A, though initially incomplete or containing cuttings, was later corrected.

Analysis: The relevant documents accompanying the goods were not disputed in genuineness, and the defect in form ST-18A was treated by the appellate authorities as a bona fide clerical error. The Court found that the authorities below had concurrently reached the conclusion that the omission did not justify penalty. In such circumstances, no question of law arose for interference under section 86 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Conclusion: Penalty under section 78(5) was not payable on the facts of the case, and the revision petition failed.

Ratio Decidendi: A mere clerical defect in a transport declaration form, when the accompanying documents are genuine and the defect is bona fide, does not by itself warrant penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994.

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