Incomplete declaration forms can trigger strict penalty liability, with owner liability applying even before later amendment.

Transport of goods with an ST 18-A declaration form left materially incomplete, together with corresponding discrepancies in the sale bills and builty, attracts penalty under Section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994. Rule 53 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules, 1955 requires the declaration form to be duly and completely filled, and strict civil liability applies where material particulars are missing; mens rea is not a necessary ingredient. The note also states that liability under Section 78(5) extends to the owner of the goods, including for the period before the 22.3.2002 amendment.

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Issues: Whether penalty was leviable under Section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 for transport of goods supported by an incomplete ST 18-A declaration form with material particulars left blank, and whether penalty could be sustained against the owner of the goods for the period prior to 22.3.2002.

Analysis: The declaration form, sale bills and builty were found to contain material omissions and discrepancies, and the Tax Board had not displaced the factual findings recorded by the assessing authority and the appellate authority. Rule 53 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules, 1955 requires the declaration form to be duly and completely filled. Reliance was placed on the principle that carriage of goods with a blank or materially incomplete declaration form attracts strict civil liability under Section 78(5), and that mens rea is not a necessary ingredient. The Court also applied the later clarification that the expression governing liability under Section 78(5) included the owner of the goods even prior to the amendment of 22.3.2002.

Conclusion: Penalty was correctly imposable for the defective declaration form, and liability could validly be fastened on the owner of the goods.

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