Blank transit declaration form treated as statutory non-compliance, justifying penalty under sales tax law.

Carrying goods in transit with a blank Form ST 18A declaration did not satisfy the statutory requirement of proper declaration under section 78(2) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act. The blank form amounted to non-compliance with the transit declaration mandate, and such incomplete declaration was sufficient to attract penalty under section 78(5). The absence of an alleged intention to evade tax did not assist the assessee because the statutory condition itself was not met. The penalty was therefore justified.

---

---

Issues: Whether carrying goods in transit with a blank declaration form under Form ST 18A amounted to non-compliance with the statutory requirement so as to justify penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act.

Analysis: The declaration form accompanied the goods, but it was admittedly blank and therefore did not satisfy the legal requirement of proper declaration in transit. The issue was governed by the principle that incomplete declaration forms do not amount to compliance with section 78(2) and can attract penalty under section 78(5). Since the blank form meant the statutory mandate was not fulfilled, the absence of alleged intention to evade tax did not assist the petitioner.

Conclusion: The penalty under section 78(5) was justified and the challenge failed.

---