TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (7) TMI 547
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....Commissioner, Bureau of Investigation, North Bengal, Alipurduar Zone on 6th December, 2023. 2. The fact of the case, in a nutshell, is that one JCB 15 LC hydraulic excavator machine was being transported on a conveyance bearing registration no. JH02AL6591 from Jharkhand to Shillong, Meghalaya. It was intercepted by the officials of Bureau of Investigation, North Bengal, Alipurduar Zone on 25th November, 2023 during regular checking. On demand, the driver of the vehicle produced a copy of delivery challan issued by N.S. Construction, Barhi, Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, one copy of e-way bill dated 22nd November, 2023 generated by URP (unregistered person), N.S. Construction, copy of one consignment note of the same date issued by Jharkhand Trai....
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....imposed penalty only because the e-way bill mistakenly showed the petitioner as an unregistered person instead of a registered person. The driver, being the agent of the petitioner, was authorized to sign the delivery challan which has also been accepted by the respondents in issuing physical verification notice, detention order, show cause notice and also the notice imposing penalty upon the driver. The respondents having, therefore, accepted the driver of the vehicle as the authorised representative of the petitioner, are debarred from raising this issue. 4. The petitioner was referred to as an unregistered person in the inter- State transaction since he had no registration under the Meghalaya G.S.T. laws. The petitioner is a registere....
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....l has placed reliance on the authority Vardan Associates Private Limited v/s. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax Central Section and Others reported in 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1710 and a judgment delivered by an Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court in M.A.T. 108 of 2024 on 22nd January, 2025 in support of her contention. 8. I have considered the rival contention of the parties and material on record. 9. At the outset, the jurisdiction of the respondents in dealing with the issue and imposing penalty upon the petitioner is required to be dealt with. It is not in dispute that the consignment was being sent from Jharkhand to Meghalaya through West Bengal. The consignment was detained by the West Bengal revenue in transit. 10. Learned coun....
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....ed taxable person possessing a GSTIN number. 12. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that since the petitioner is not registered under the GST laws in Meghalaya, he has been referred to as URP in the said documents. Such explanation given by the petitioner does not hold water. Both the e-way bill and delivery challan were issued from the petitioner's end in Jharkhand and refers to the GSTIN of the supplier. Since the petitioner was the supplier of the machinery, it was incumbent upon him to provide his GSTIN no. and not pose as an unregistered person. The petitioner not being registered under the GST laws at the consignee's end is irrelevant. Such suppression cannot be termed as an inadvertent error but may be a device to co....
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....before the authority to defend his cause. It was found upon verification of the registration details of the company that the petitioner was the only declared authorized signatory of the concern. The contention of the petitioner disclosed through mail was considered by the adjudicating authority as well as the appellate authority before raising the demand. The driver of the vehicle can, therefore, under no stretch of imagination be said to be the authorized signatory of the petitioner's company. 15. It is evident from the record that the petitioner wrote to the authority on 21st December, 2023 requesting update/change of the name of the driver to his name in order to enable him to deposit the requisite amount for preferring appeal. In the....
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....Act of 2017 without granting opportunity to the delinquent to defend his cause. 18. Such situation has not arisen in the present case since reasonable opportunity of hearing was granted to the petitioner prior to adjudication and the petitioner was adequately represented before both the authorities. 19. In the authority in Vardan Associates Private Limited (supra), the issue which fell for consideration before the Hon'ble Supreme Court was transportation of the consignment after expiry of valid e-way bill. The ratio decidendi of the said judgment is not applicable in the fact situation of the present case. The judgment in MAT 108 of 2024 is squarely applicable herein. 20. In the backdrop of the discussion made hereinabove, this Cou....