Cured transit-document deficiency bars penalty when the missing form is later furnished in reply to notice.

Penalty for transporting goods without Form 18-A was treated as unsustainable once the assessee produced the required form in reply to the show-cause notice and the document deficiency stood cured. The commentary applies the principle that, where the statutory transit-document requirement is ultimately satisfied by subsequent furnishing of the missing form and all other documents were already available, penalty should not be imposed for the initial omission. On that basis, the penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 was held unwarranted and the setting aside of the penalty was sustained.

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Issues: Whether penalty under section 78(5) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 was sustainable when the requisite Form 18-A was furnished after notice and the deficiency stood cured.

Analysis: The assessee was found transporting goods without Form 18-A, but all other requisite documents were available and the form was later submitted in reply to the show-cause notice. The statutory requirement under section 78(2)(A) stood satisfied upon such filing. The governing principle, as applied from the binding precedent referred to in the judgment, is that where a deficiency or contravention in transit documents is cured by production of the requisite document in response to notice, imposition of penalty should be avoided.

Conclusion: The penalty under section 78(5) was not justified and the assessee succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The revision failed, and the orders setting aside the penalty were sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory transit-document deficiency is subsequently cured by furnishing the requisite document in reply to the notice, penalty for the initial omission is not warranted.

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