Penalty for blank declaration form fails absent material showing an attempt to evade tax under trade tax law.

Penalty under Section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act could not be sustained because the record showed no material attempt to evade tax. The declaration form was left blank by the seller despite being sent by the purchaser for completion on the basis of the invoice, and the goods were accompanied by the invoice, bilty and declaration form at interception. As the driver and purchaser produced the supporting documents and there was no evidence of evasion, the inference that the blank form might be used in another transaction was unsupported by evidence. The purchaser therefore succeeded, and the penalty was held unsustainable.

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Issues: Whether penalty could be sustained under Section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act when the declaration form was left blank by the seller and there was no material showing an attempt to evade tax.

Analysis: Penalty under Section 15-A(1)(o) required a proven attempt to evade tax. The declaration form had been sent by the purchaser for completion by the seller on the basis of the invoice, but it remained blank due to the seller's omission. The goods were accompanied by the invoice, bilty and declaration form when the vehicle was intercepted, and there was no material that the driver or the purchaser tried to evade inspection. The inference that the blank form could be used in another transaction was based only on surmise and not on evidence.

Conclusion: The penalty was not sustainable, and the purchaser succeeded on the issue.

Ratio Decidendi: Penalty under Section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act cannot be imposed unless there is material showing an attempt to evade tax; a blank declaration form, by itself, is insufficient where the purchaser acted bona fide and the supporting documents were produced.

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