Order Date – 05 March 2024

Parties: M/S Deco Plywood Industries Vs  State Of U.P. And 2 Others

Facts –

• The Petitioner, M/s Deco Plywood Industries, was supplying plywood to another registered dealer, and the transaction was duly covered by a tax invoice, a bilty and e-way bill, all dated January 27, 2021.
• When the vehicle was in transit, the same was intercepted on 30.1.2021 by the Goods and Service Tax authorities. The seizure order was passed along with penalty on the ground that the document/invoice number has wrongly been mentioned in the e-way bill.

Issue –

• Whether penalty can be imposed on wrongly mentioning document/invoice number in e-way bill?

Order –

• The Single Bench of Hon’ble High Court observed that a typographical error in the e-way bill without any further material to substantiate the intention to evade tax should not and cannot lead to imposition of penalty. In the case of M/s. Varun Beverages Limited there was a typographical error in the e-way bill of 4 letters (HR – 73). 
• In the present case, instead of ‘0401’, ‘2224’ was incorrectly entered into the e-way bill which clearly appears to be a typographical error. In certain cases where lapses by the dealers are major, it may be deemed that there is an intention to evade tax but not so in every case. Typically when the error is a minor error of the nature found in this particular case, the imposition of penalty under Section 129 of the Act is without jurisdiction and illegal in law.
• The writ petition is allowed accordingly.