Transit slip omission and unexplained diversion of goods supported penalty for attempted tax evasion under Punjab VAT law.

Penalty under the Punjab Value Added Tax Act was sustained where goods moving from Delhi to Jammu were found at Amritsar after an unexplained delay and without the transit slip required on entry into Punjab. The Court accepted the revenue's inference of attempted tax evasion because the assessee failed to satisfactorily explain the diversion, and the record did not conclusively show that the detained goods were the same goods covered by the invoice. Concurrent findings of the assessing authority, appellate authority, and Tribunal were not shown to be perverse or illegal, and the absence of the transit slip reinforced the statutory presumption against the assessee. The penalty was therefore upheld.

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Issues: Whether penalty under Section 51(7)(c) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005 was sustainable on the facts, including the absence of a transit slip and the circumstances in which the goods were found at Amritsar.

Analysis: The goods were booked for movement from Delhi to Jammu, but they were found lying at Amritsar after considerable delay and without the transit slip required on entry into Punjab under Section 51(4) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005. The explanation for the diversion through Amritsar was found unsatisfactory, and the record did not establish that the goods detained were the same goods covered by the invoice in a manner sufficient to displace the inference available to the revenue authorities. The factual findings of the assessing authority, the appellate authority, and the Tribunal showed a possible attempt to evade tax, and no perversity or illegality in those findings was demonstrated. The Court also noted that the absence of the transit slip supported the statutory presumption against the assessee in the circumstances of the case.

Conclusion: Penalty under Section 51(7)(c) of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005 was held to be justified, and the appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods entering Punjab without the requisite transit slip are found at an unexplained place and the assessee fails to rebut the inference arising from the surrounding circumstances, penalty for attempted tax evasion may be sustained on the basis of a rebuttable presumption and concurrent factual findings.

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