2018 (12) TMI 1004 - HC - GST

Release of Detained Goods: E-Way Bill Discrepancy Resolved

The court ordered the release of goods detained due to an e-Way bill discrepancy. If the petitioner paid the IGST based on the original e-Way bill value, ... E Way bill discrepancy - detention of goods for clerical error - human error not to be capitalised for penalisation - payment of IGST according to invoice value - release of goods on simple bond - release of goods on bank guaranteeE Way bill discrepancy - detention of goods for clerical error - human error not to be capitalised for penalisation - Detention of vehicle and goods due to a visible clerical discrepancy in the e Way bill is not a ground for penalisation where the error is apparent on the face of the document. - HELD THAT: - The Court noted that the petitioner initially generated an e Way bill showing an incorrect place name and thereafter cancelled it and generated a corrected e Way bill which, however, contained an obvious typographical error in the declared value. The High Court held that a human error which is discernible on naked eye cannot be capitalised for penalisation. While ordinarily the question of prima facie value is for the competent authority, the Court declined to allow detention to be used as a punitive measure for such obvious clerical mistakes.Detention cannot be sustained as penalisation for an apparent clerical error in the e Way bill.Payment of IGST according to invoice value - release of goods on simple bond - release of goods on bank guarantee - Conditional release of the detained vehicle and goods depending on verification of IGST payment in accordance with the original bill's value. - HELD THAT: - The Court directed verification whether the petitioner had paid IGST according to the value shown in the original e Way bill (Ext.P4). If such payment is established, the vehicle and goods are to be released on the petitioner executing a simple bond. If it is found that IGST was not paid in accordance with the original bill's value, release is permitted only upon the petitioner furnishing a bank guarantee. The order thereby balances the administrative interest in correct tax collection with protection against penalising inadvertent clerical mistakes.If IGST was paid as per the original bill's value, release on simple bond; otherwise release only on bank guarantee.Final Conclusion: Writ petition disposed of by directing conditional release of the detained vehicle and goods: release on simple bond if verification shows IGST was paid according to the original bill's value, or release upon furnishing a bank guarantee if such payment is not shown; detention cannot be used to penalise an apparent clerical error in the e Way bill. Issues:Detention of goods due to discrepancy in e-Way bill.Analysis:The petitioner's goods were detained because of a mistake in the e-Way bill. The first e-Way bill mentioned the place of delivery as 'Payhanamthitta' and the value of goods as Rs. 3882200. Subsequently, a corrected e-Way bill was generated with the place of delivery correctly shown as 'Pathanamthitta', but the value of goods was mistakenly mentioned as Rs. 388220 instead of Rs. 3882200. The detention of goods was based on this discrepancy.The court noted that if a human error that is visible to the naked eye is detected, it should not be used for penalization. While normally the court would only order the release of the goods against a bank guarantee, in this case, the court decided to take a different approach. The court stated that if the petitioner had paid the IGST in accordance with the value shown in the original e-Way bill, the goods should be released to the petitioner.The court issued orders that upon verification, if it is confirmed that the petitioner had paid the IGST based on the value shown in the original e-Way bill, the vehicle and goods should be released to the petitioner by executing a simple bond. However, if it is found that the IGST was not paid according to the value in the original e-Way bill, then the goods and vehicle should be released only upon furnishing a bank guarantee. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly.