Penalty for missing bill number sustained where books were not produced and later photocopies were rejected as belated evidence.

Penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act was upheld where goods were carried without a bill number and the assessee failed to produce relevant books and bill books despite opportunity. The High Court treated the assessee's admission of mistake, request for penalty, and request for release of goods as sufficient basis, and held that the assessing officer was not required to prove the discrepancy further. Photocopies later produced before the appellate authority were rejected because the material had not been produced at the earlier stage and no proper rebuttal opportunity had been given. The absence of a bill number was treated as a serious defect indicating possible manipulation and evasion.

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Issues: Whether the penalty imposed for carrying goods without a bill number under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act was justified and whether the appellate authorities were right in deleting the penalty.

Analysis: The representative of the assessee had not produced the relevant books of account and bill books before the assessing officer despite opportunity and had admitted the mistake, requested imposition of penalty, and sought release of the goods. The Court held that, in such circumstances, the assessing officer had no further burden to prove the discrepancy. The attempt to rely on photocopies before the appellate authority was not accepted, since the material had not been produced at the earlier stage and no proper opportunity for rebuttal had been given to the assessing officer. The absence of a bill number was treated as a serious defect capable of facilitating manipulation and indicating evasion.

Conclusion: The penalty was held to be rightly imposed, and the orders of the appellate authorities deleting the penalty were set aside.

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