High Court orders release of goods & vehicle due to minor E-way bill discrepancy

The High Court of Allahabad ordered the release of the petitioner's detained goods and vehicle after noting a circular allowing minor discrepancies in E-way bills. The petitioner, a registered dealer, had paid the requisite tax as per the invoice, and the discrepancy in the vehicle number on the E-way bill did not warrant detention under the U.P. GST Act. The court directed the release upon the petitioner furnishing an indemnity bond equivalent to the tax and penalty liability, emphasizing the circular's significance to avoid unnecessary detentions due to minor errors in E-way bills.

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Issues: Detention of goods due to discrepancy in vehicle number on E-way bill.

The High Court of Allahabad heard the case where the petitioner's Aluminium scrap was detained during transportation from Kanpur to Jaunpur under Section 129(1) of the U.P. GST Act. The detention was solely based on the discrepancy that the vehicle number did not match the one mentioned on the E-way bill. The petitioner, a registered dealer, had already realized the requisite tax as per the invoice. The court noted that a circular by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes and Custom GST Policies Wing dated 14.09.2018, clarified that minor discrepancies in the E-way bill, such as errors of one or two digits/characters in the vehicle number, should not lead to the initiation of proceedings under the Act.

Considering the above, the court ordered the release of the goods and the petitioner's vehicle immediately upon the petitioner furnishing an indemnity bond equivalent to the tax and penalty liability mentioned in the notice under Section 129(3) of the Act. The writ petition was disposed of with this direction, emphasizing the importance of the circular in cases of minor discrepancies in E-way bills to prevent unnecessary detention of goods.

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