Seizure of goods and levy of penalty were challenged on the...

Seizure of goods and levy of penalty were challenged on the ground that the e-way bill validity allegedly expired due to an auto-generated Part-B showing an incorrect distance. The goods were motor vehicle chassis duly accompanied by tax invoice, e-way bill, sale certificate, and temporary registration, and the delivery location was specifically reflected in the documents. As the distance field was auto-populated after Part-A and was not editable by the taxpayer, the authority had no basis to infer tax evasion, and mere expiry of an e-way bill was held insufficient to establish intent to evade tax. The seizure and penalty order was quashed and the petition was allowed - HC