Exhibition permission under Kerala VAT law cannot be treated as a condition for vehicle entry into the State.

Permission under Section 16(13)(i) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act applies to the conduct of an exhibition, exchange mela or prize scheme for sales promotion, and not as a pre-condition for entry of vehicles into the State. Where vehicles were already registered under the Motor Vehicles Act and were being transported for exhibition and return to the owner, the absence of prior certification at the check-post could not justify detention on that ground. The operative effect is that statutory permission for a promotional event cannot be treated as a condition precedent for state entry unless the statute expressly says so.

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Issues: Whether permission under Section 16(13)(i) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 can be insisted upon at the time of entry of vehicles into the State when they are brought for exhibition or demonstration.

Analysis: The provision requires a dealer conducting exhibitions, exchange melas or prize schemes for sales promotion to obtain written permission from the assessing authority and to display it at the place where the event is conducted. The requirement operates at the stage of conducting the exhibition or other promotional event, not as a pre-condition for bringing the vehicles into the State. Since the vehicles were already registered under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and were being transported for exhibition and return to the registered owner, the absence of prior certification at the check-post could not justify detention on that ground.

Conclusion: Permission under Section 16(13)(i) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 could not be insisted upon at the time of entry of the goods into the State, and the detention was unsustainable. The release of the detained goods was directed on furnishing a simple bond without sureties.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory permission required for conducting an exhibition or similar sales-promotion event cannot be treated as a condition precedent for entry of goods into the State unless the statute expressly so provides.

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