Detention for missing transport seal cannot be treated as tax evasion where no evasion is alleged in the notice.

Detained goods were directed to be released on payment of a composition amount where the detention notice did not allege tax evasion. The goods had already reached the purchaser's factory, and the detention arose only because the transport documents lacked a seal. In that setting, Section 72(1) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 was applied as a composition mechanism for the offence, limiting the amount recoverable for release rather than justifying detention on a tax-evasion basis. The court therefore treated the case as one of procedural default, not evasion, and ordered release on payment of the composition amount.

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Issues: Whether the detained goods were liable to be released on payment of a composition amount when no evasion of tax was disclosed in the detention notice.

Analysis: The goods had already reached the purchaser's factory, and the detention was occasioned by the absence of a seal in the transport documents. The impugned notice did not allege any tax evasion. In that situation, Section 72(1) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006, permitted composition of the offence and limited the amount recoverable for release, rather than sustaining detention on a tax-evasion basis.

Conclusion: The goods were ordered to be released on payment of Rs. 2,000, and the detention could not be sustained as one involving evasion of tax.

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