Principles of Tax Fairness and Mens Rea: Quashes Penalty for Mere Technical Errors

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....-Way Bill before the movement of goods. Arguments Presented Contentions of the Petitioner The petitioner's counsel argued the following points: * There were discrepancies in the timing of inspection and statement recorded by the authorities, raising doubts about the proceedings. * One e-Way Bill was generated before the detention, and the second one was generated after the detention due to technical glitches, contrary to the authorities' claim that both were generated after detention. * The orders passed by the authorities were non-speaking and did not provide adequate reasons for the decision. * The appellate authority passed an ex-parte order without affording proper opportunity for a hearing, violating the principles o....

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.... tax invoices contained all relevant details, including the vehicle number transporting the goods, and the CGST and SGST were already charged by the supplier. * The court highlighted that the authorities failed to establish any intention to evade tax on the part of the petitioner. * The court observed that the orders passed by the authorities were based on mere technical errors without considering the absence of any intention to evade tax. * The court emphasized that the imposition of penalties must be backed by cogent reasoning, which seemed to be lacking in the present case. * The court held that the authorities had exceeded their jurisdiction and acted beyond their powers by imposing tax and penalty without any concrete evidence ....