Penalty under trade tax law was unsustainable where books and challan supported the consignment and later challan-format rules could not apply.

Penalty under Section 13A(4) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act was held unsustainable where the consignment was supported by challan, ledger and cash book entries and the dealer's explanation was accepted on the factual record. The later requirement that challans bear numbers printed by a press could not be applied to a 1996-97 transaction. Non-filing of an application under Section 13A(6) or an appeal against the seizure order did not justify penalty on these facts. The revisional court also noted that the Tribunal failed to address the appellate findings, so the penalty was set aside and the revision succeeded.

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Issues: Whether penalty under Section 13A(4) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act was sustainable when the consignment was supported by challan, ledger and cash book entries, and whether non-filing of an application under Section 13A(6) or an appeal against the seizure order justified the penalty.

Analysis: The goods were found reflected in the books of account and corresponding documents, and the first appellate authority had accepted the dealer's explanation on the factual record. The later statutory requirement regarding printing of numbers on the challan by a printing press could not be applied to the 1996-97 transaction. The revisional court also found that the Tribunal had not dealt with the factual findings recorded in appeal and that the penalty rested on an unsustainable approach to the existing record.

Conclusion: The penalty was not sustainable, and the revision succeeded.

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