Penalty based on transport forms must consider their genuineness and relevance before adverse action is sustained.

Forms filed in reply to a show-cause notice must be examined on their relevance and merits before a penalty is imposed under section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act. The Tribunal could not rely merely on the earlier non-furnishing of Forms 31 as evidence of an intention to evade tax without first deciding whether the forms were genuine, whether they related to the goods transported, and whether they were acceptable or liable to rejection. On that record, the penalty order could not stand and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration of the forms and their relevance.

---

---

Issues: Whether the penalty imposed under section 15-A(1)(o) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act could be sustained when the forms produced in reply to the show-cause notice were not examined as to their relevance to the goods transported.

Analysis: The assessee produced Forms 31 at the first opportunity in reply to the show-cause notice. The Tribunal treated the earlier non-furnishing of those forms as indicating an intention to escape tax, but did not decide whether the forms were genuine, whether they related to the goods in question, or whether they could be accepted or rejected on merits. A material placed in response to a show-cause notice must be considered and dealt with before a penal order is made.

Conclusion: The penalty order could not be sustained on the existing record and the matter was remanded to the Tribunal for fresh consideration of the forms and their relevance.

---