False declaration in transport documents justified vehicle detention; release was refused until tax and penalty were paid.

False declaration in the transport documents justified detention of the vehicle under the Orissa Value Added Tax Act, 2004, because verification and revisional scrutiny had already shown that the goods were not as described. The transporter had not sought impleadment under section 74(6), and the circumstances suggested a lack of bona fides in seeking release. Applying the preventive object of section 74 against tax evasion, the Court held that release of the vehicle could not be granted without payment of the tax and penalty assessed on the goods carried, and rejected the mandamus request.

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Issues: Whether the detention of the transporter's vehicle could be interfered with and released without payment of the tax and penalty demanded under the Orissa Value Added Tax Act, 2004.

Analysis: The documents accompanying the goods and the manifest disclosed a false description of the commodity, and the authorities had already concluded, on verification and revisional scrutiny, that the goods were not as declared. The transporter had not taken steps to be impleaded under section 74(6) of the Orissa Value Added Tax Act, 2004, and his conduct, viewed with the consignee's attempt to secure release of the goods, indicated lack of bona fides. In the statutory scheme of section 74, the vehicle could be released only upon realization of the tax and penalty assessed on the goods carried, and the Court applied the preventive object of the provision against tax evasion.

Conclusion: The vehicle could not be released without payment of the tax and penalty demanded under the Orissa Value Added Tax Act, 2004, and the prayer for mandamus was rejected.

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