Incomplete declaration form at tax checkpost justified penalty; mens rea need not be separately proved where evasion is inferred.

A declaration form required at a tax checkpost must be complete in all material particulars, including essential goods details and relevant columns; an incomplete form is treated as non est in law. On that basis, penalty was upheld because the incompleteness itself supported the inference of evasion, and the Revenue was not required first to prove mens rea or actual intention to evade tax. The later insertion of wording emphasising complete filling of the form did not change the legal position on these facts. The challenge to deletion of penalty failed, and the penalty order was restored.

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Issues: Whether penalty was leviable for transporting goods with an incomplete declaration form and whether the Revenue was required to prove mens rea or actual intention to evade tax.

Analysis: The declaration form was produced on the next day but was found to be incomplete in material particulars, including essential details such as description of goods and other relevant columns. The Court applied the governing principle that, for the statutory requirement of carrying a declaration form, the form must be complete in all material respects. It further held that the later insertion of the words requiring the form to be completely filled in did not alter the legal position on the facts, and that the authoritative rulings relied upon by the Revenue squarely covered the case. In such matters, proof of mens rea was not necessary where the incompleteness of the form itself supported the inference of evasion.

Conclusion: The finding that the declaration form was non est in law and that penalty under section 78(5) was justified was upheld; the assessee's challenge failed and the Revenue succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The order deleting the penalty was set aside and the penalty order was restored, with the Revenue obtaining the substantive relief sought.

Ratio Decidendi: A declaration form required under the tax-checkpost provisions must be complete in all material particulars, and where it is not, penalty may follow without the Revenue first proving mens rea.

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