https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=436735 Where a tax statute expressly makes penalty and interest follow objective conditions, the authority has no discretion to waive the civil consequence once those conditions are met. Under the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, failure to pay assessed or reassessed tax above the statutory threshold triggered mandatory penalty under Section 45(6) and interest under Section 47(4A). Bona fide belief, absence of mens rea, or later payment of the differential tax did not negate liability, because the provisions were treated as plain and unambiguous. Earlier authorities requiring mens rea were distinguished on materially different wording. The High Court's deletion of the levy was set aside and the tax liability was affirmed. en-us Mon, 17 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 11 Sep 2023 11:43:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=436735 Where a tax statute expressly makes penalty and interest follow objective conditions, the authority has no discretion to waive the civil consequence once those conditions are met. Under the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, failure to pay assessed or reassessed tax above the statutory threshold triggered mandatory penalty under Section 45(6) and interest under Section 47(4A). Bona fide belief, absence of mens rea, or later payment of the differential tax did not negate liability, because the provisions were treated as plain and unambiguous. Earlier authorities requiring mens rea were distinguished on materially different wording. The High Court's deletion of the levy was set aside and the tax liability was affirmed. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Mon, 17 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=436735