The HC dismissed the petition, holding that no penalty...

The HC dismissed the petition, holding that no penalty proceedings could be initiated under the GST Act or the J&K VAT Act, 2005 for goods liable to Entry Tax under the Act of 2000. The Court clarified that Section 6 of the Act of 2000 incorporates only procedural provisions relating to appeals, revisions, recovery, and refund mutatis mutandis from the GST Act or the Act of 2005, and does not extend to imposing penalties absent a specific charging section. Since Section 4 of the Act of 2000 prescribes penalty solely for falsification of documents, the imposition of penalty for bypassing the Check Post without false documentation lacks statutory authority. The Court emphasized the constitutional mandate under Article 265 requiring a substantive charging provision for levy of penalty and rejected attempts to extend penalty provisions by reference. The petition was thus found devoid of merit and dismissed accordingly.

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