GST invoice requirements: transporter need not carry the original tax invoice, so tax and penalty could not be sustained.

Under the goods and services tax invoice regime, a transporter is required to carry the duplicate copy during transit, not the original tax invoice. The Court noted that the governing provisions did not support insistence on the original copy and followed its earlier decision on the same point. Tax and penalty could not therefore be sustained merely because the original invoice was not produced during transportation, and the finding was in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the transporter was required to carry the original tax invoice during transit, and whether tax and penalty could be sustained solely on the ground that the original invoice was not produced.

Analysis: The relevant provisions referred to in the impugned orders did not require the transporter to carry the original tax invoice. The statutory scheme under the goods and services tax law contemplated carriage of the duplicate copy for transportation, while the original and triplicate copies were intended for other prescribed recipients. The same question had already been considered in an earlier decision of the Court, where it was held that the transporter is not obliged to carry the original invoice and that insistence on the original copy is not supported by the governing provisions.

Conclusion: The demand of tax and penalty could not be sustained on the ground that the transporter did not carry the original tax invoice; the finding is in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Under the goods and services tax invoice regime, the transporter is required to carry the duplicate copy of the invoice, and penalty cannot be imposed merely because the original tax invoice was not carried during transit.

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