Subsequent production of declaration form can satisfy check-post compliance and defeat penalty where no deliberate default is shown.

Subsequent production of the declaration form ST-18A before the assessing officer, in reply to the show-cause notice, was treated as sufficient compliance with the check-post requirement under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994. Because the form was ultimately furnished and no deliberate non-compliance was shown, penalty under section 78(5) was held unsustainable. The appellate authorities' orders setting aside the penalty were therefore upheld, and the revision petition failed.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 was leviable when the declaration form ST-18A was produced before the assessing officer in reply to the show-cause notice.

Analysis: The declaration form was not available at the time of vehicle checking, but it was subsequently furnished before the assessing officer in response to the notice. In light of the Supreme Court ruling that where documents are not readily available at the time of checking, an opportunity may be given to produce them, the subsequent production of the required form amounted to sufficient compliance with the statutory requirements. On that basis, the penalty order was unsustainable.

Conclusion: Penalty under section 78(5) was not justified and the orders setting aside the penalty were upheld.

Final Conclusion: The revision petition failed, and the penalty imposed by the assessing officer remained interfered with by the appellate authorities.

Ratio Decidendi: Subsequent production of the requisite declaration form in response to a show-cause notice can constitute sufficient compliance with the check-post requirements, preventing levy of penalty under section 78(5) where no deliberate non-compliance is established.

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