Blank declaration form could not justify penalty when stock transfer movement was outside the declaration requirement.

Penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act was not leviable where goods were moved on 20.09.1996 for stock transfer or branch transfer before the notification dated 20.03.2000, because the declaration form ST-18A was not required for that class of movement during the relevant period. In that situation, the blankness of the declaration form could not by itself attract penalty. The lower authorities' concurrent deletion of penalty was therefore not shown to be illegal, irregular, or perverse, and the challenge to that relief failed.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 was leviable for carrying a blank declaration form ST-18A when the goods were in stock transfer or branch transfer and the transaction was prior to the notification dated 20.03.2000.

Analysis: The goods were transported on 20.09.1996, which was prior to Notification No. F.4(1)FD/Tax/Div/2000-314 dated 20.03.2000. The notification was held applicable to such movement of goods, and in cases of stock transfer, branch transfer, depot transfer, or SOS transfer, carrying the declaration form was not required for the period in question. Once the statutory requirement itself was inapplicable, the fact that the form was blank did not assume significance. The concurrent findings of the lower authorities deleting the penalty were therefore not shown to be illegal, irregular, or perverse.

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

Final Conclusion: The challenge to deletion of penalty was rejected, and the order of the Tax Board sustaining the appellate relief was left undisturbed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory declaration form was not required for the relevant class of goods movement under the applicable notification, non-filling or blankness of the form could not by itself justify penalty.

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