Levy of penalty - at the time of detention was that one of the...

Levy of penalty - at the time of detention was that one of the E-Way Bills had expired - The High court held that mens rea to evade tax is essential for imposing penalties. In this case, there was no indication of intent to evade tax. While a technical violation occurred, authorities failed to establish repeated use of the expired E-Way Bill or intent to evade tax. Therefore, the technical violation alone did not warrant a penalty u/s 129(3) of the Act. The court quashed the impugned orders.