Transit permit compliance under Jharkhand VAT law sustained penalty where documents were absent and produced belatedly.

Goods in transit must be accompanied by the prescribed declaration form and valid Sugam-G road permit under the Jharkhand Value Added Tax Act, 2005. Where the vehicle was intercepted without a valid transit permit, the permit produced was generated only after interception, and no reliable material supported movement with proper documents, the authorities were entitled to proceed under Section 72. The concurrent factual findings were that the documentation was invalid and the goods were not shown to be exempt capital goods on the record. The penalty under Section 72(6) was therefore sustained.

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Issues: Whether penalty under Section 72 of the Jharkhand Value Added Tax Act, 2005 could be sustained where the goods were intercepted in transit without a valid Sugam-G road permit and the assessee claimed absence of tax liability.

Analysis: Section 72 of the Jharkhand Value Added Tax Act, 2005 requires goods in movement to be accompanied by the prescribed documents, including the declaration form and road permit. Where goods are moved without documents, or with false or unsupported documents, the officer in charge is empowered to seize the goods or impose penalty after giving a reasonable opportunity of hearing. The authorities and the Tribunal found that the vehicle was intercepted without any valid transit permit, the permit produced was generated after interception, and there was no reliable material to show that the goods were being moved with valid documents. These were concurrent findings of fact. The claim that the transformers were capital goods exempt from tax was also not accepted on the record.

Conclusion: The penalty imposed under Section 72(6) of the Jharkhand Value Added Tax Act, 2005 was valid and the challenge failed.

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