Form 31 not required for machinery brought in for own use, and penalty fails absent deliberate non-compliance.

Machinery imported into the State for a dealer's own use in manufacturing, and not for resale, did not attract the Form 31 requirement on the facts found because no taxable sale transaction arose. On that basis, non-furnishing of the form was treated as at most a technical breach. Penalty under the Sales Tax Act was therefore not sustainable absent contumacious conduct or conscious disregard of law, and the penalty order was set aside.

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Issues: (i) whether Form 31 was required for import of machinery brought into the State for the dealer's own use and not for sale; (ii) whether penalty under the Sales Tax Act could be sustained for such non-furnishing of the form.

Issue (i): Whether Form 31 was required for import of machinery brought into the State for the dealer's own use and not for sale.

Analysis: The machinery was found to have been imported for installation and use in manufacturing plastic goods, not for resale. Since the goods were not imported for sale and no taxable sale transaction arose, the statutory check-post form requirement did not apply on the facts found.

Conclusion: Form 31 was not required.

Issue (ii): Whether penalty under the Sales Tax Act could be sustained for such non-furnishing of the form.

Analysis: As the goods were not liable to sales tax in the circumstances and had not been sold, the breach, if any, was only technical. No contumacious conduct or conscious disregard of law was shown, and penalty is not warranted for a mere technical infraction in such circumstances.

Conclusion: The penalty could not be sustained.

Final Conclusion: The revision succeeded and the penalty order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: Where goods are imported for the dealer's own use and not for sale, non-furnishing of the prescribed form is not exigible to penalty unless deliberate or contumacious conduct is established.

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