Subsequent filing of VAT-47 cured the transit defect and defeated penalty for alleged tax evasion.

Penalty under the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act was held not leviable where goods in transit were accompanied by basic transport documents and form VAT-47 was later filed with the reply to the show-cause notice. The defect in non-accompaniment of the form was treated as cured by subsequent production, and the goods and documents were found neither forged nor unauthentic. That factual position supported the bona fides of the transaction and negated any inference of tax evasion required for penal action. The assessee therefore succeeded on the penalty issue.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 76(6) of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003 was leviable where the goods in transit were accompanied by the basic transport documents but form VAT-47 was produced along with the reply to the show-cause notice.

Analysis: The goods and the accompanying documents were not found to be forged or unauthentic. The statutory defect regarding non-accompaniment of form VAT-47 under section 76(2)(b) read with rule 53 stood cured when the form was filed with the reply to the notice. That circumstance supported the bona fides of the transaction and negatived any inference of tax evasion necessary to justify penalty. The facts were treated as covered by the principle that subsequent production of the required declaration with the reply indicates compliance and does not, by itself, warrant penal action.

Conclusion: Penalty was not leviable and the assessee succeeded on this issue.

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