Section 48 of the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 - Goods - Power to seize

CST & VAT : U.P. VAT : Where Authorised Officer intercepted a new chassis and owner told that he was taking same from Jaipur to Moradabad for getting its body built, seizure of chassis on ground that it was being taken to Moradabad for sale by evading payment of tax was patently illegal
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[2014] 51 taxmann.com 496 (Allahabad)
HIGH COURT OF ALLAHABAD
Raphik Mohammad
v.
Commissioner of Commercial Tax, U.P.*
SUDHIR AGARWAL, J.
SALES/ TRADE TAX REVISION NO. 102 OF 2014
APRIL  17, 2014
Section 48 of the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 - Goods - Power to seize - Authorised Officer intercepted a new chassis of goods carrier with temporary registration number near Ghaziabad - Driver, who was also owner of chassis, on enquiry told that he was taking chassis from Jaipur to Moradabad for getting its body built and not for sale - Except temporary registration certificate and insurance certificate, driver did not possess any other document - Authorised Officer forming an opinion that chassis was being taken to Moradabad or elsewhere in U.P. for sale by evading payment of tax seized same and demanded a cash security for releasing it - Whether seizure of chassis from its very inception was patently illegal and amounted to gross abuse of process of law - Held, yes [Para 6] [In favour of assessee]