Transit goods seizure cannot stand where prescribed documents exist and the vehicle is found on the declared route.

Seizure of transit goods and the presumption of local sale cannot be sustained where the goods are covered by the bill, bilty and Transit Declaration Form, and the vehicle is intercepted at a point disclosed in the declared route. The statutory presumption under the transit provisions arises only on absence of prescribed documents or non-compliance with the prescribed procedure. In the absence of reliable material showing unloading in Uttar Pradesh or any attempt to evade tax, adverse departmental allegations remain insufficient. On these facts, seizure was held unjustified and no presumption of sale within Uttar Pradesh could be drawn.

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Issues: Whether the seizure of goods in transit and the consequent presumption of intended sale within Uttar Pradesh were justified when the goods were accompanied by the prescribed documents and the vehicle was found at one of the disclosed route points.

Analysis: The goods were moving from outside Uttar Pradesh to another State and were accompanied by the bill, bilty and Transit Declaration Form. The disclosed route in the form included the place where the vehicle was intercepted, and there was no specific column requiring disclosure of the exact road within each city. The statutory presumption under the transit provisions arises only when the required documents are absent or the prescribed procedure is not followed. The record also did not contain reliable material to show that the goods had been unloaded in Uttar Pradesh or that there was an attempt to evade tax. The adverse material relied upon by the department was not supported by substantive evidence.

Conclusion: The seizure was not justified and no presumption of sale within Uttar Pradesh could arise; the revisionist succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods in transit are accompanied by the prescribed documents and the vehicle is found at a disclosed point on the declared route, seizure and the statutory presumption of local sale cannot be sustained unless there is reliable material showing non-compliance or an attempt to evade tax.

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