TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2000 (7) TMI 929
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....ted June 10, 2000. The consignment sent through lorry to the purchaser. The lorry driver was in possession of copies of sale bill, form XX delivery note, receipt issued by the regulated market, Nagercoil. According to the petitioner these are the only records to be carried by the vehicle as prescribed in section 44 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. On the way the vehicle was checked at Kavalkinaru check-post. It is also pointed out that rubber is taxable at the point of last purchase in the State. According to the petitioner his sale to the purchaser at Chrompet is not taxable under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act. On June 14, 2000 the lorry was found in Manali and the respondent questioned the driver about the legality of....
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....tax and penalty, at the rate of 8 per cent on Rs. 2 lakhs. To the above proceeding the petitioner had again sent a reply on June 26, 2000 stating that he had not committed any offence and the goods had been moved with proper records and therefore he was not willing to compound the offence. He was prepared to face the prosecution, but wanted release of the goods. The original petition is to quash the proceedings in G.D. 11/ 2000 dated June 26, 2000 and to direct the release of the goods on collection of tax alone, as provided under section 42(3) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act. The respondent has produced the records in answer to the notice issued by us. The learned Government Advocate opposes the prayer in the original petition a....
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....with it now. Section 45 talks of offences and penalties. In the proceedings of the respondents sections 45(2), 45(4)(a) and 45(6) are mentioned. We will extract those provisions of law: "Section 45(2)(b): fraudulently evades the payment of any tax assessed on him or any fee or other amount due from him under this Act, or Section 45(4)(a): Any owner or other person in-charge of a boat or a goods vehicle who fails to carry with him any of the records or documents specified in section 43 or section 44, as the case may be, shall, on conviction, be liable to simple imprisonment which may extend to six months or a fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or both. Section 45(6): Any person who makes any statement or declaration in any....
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.... that is not the law or the scheme of the Act. Once a person refuses to compound the offence, the logical end is to prosecute the person, in which case there is no provision for releasing of the goods on payment of any amount. It is well-known that when a prosecution is launched, the property involved in the offence has to be placed under the control of the Magistrate. The question of disposal of the property will depend upon the orders of the Magistrate and it is always open to the party, seek return of the goods if the property is likely to be damaged. We will only make a reference to section 451 of the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973, for easy understanding of the view taken by us. "451. Order for custody and disposal of property pendin....