Striking a Balance: Judicial Interpretation of GST Provisions on Record-Keeping and Penalties

Record-keeping obligations: failure attracts a capped statutory penalty and invalidates arbitrary confiscation without due process.

The judgment emphasises that registered persons must maintain prescribed books and electronic records under Section 35 and related rules, and that any determination of tax on unaccounted goods must follow the show cause procedures for assessing tax liability. It finds that conditions for confiscation under Section 130 were not met and that penalties must be imposed in accordance with the statutory bifurcation in Section 122, with the offences in question attracting only the capped penalty, thereby underscoring procedural limits on enforcement powers.