Aniruddha Bose, J. - (1.) The subject of challenge in the present writ petition is seizure of certain goods and consequent imposition of penalty upon the petitioner under the provisions of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 (described henceforth as "the said Act"). The petitioner, a partnership -firm, is a registered dealer under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 as also under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. It is the petitioner's case that a Mumbai based firm, Pioneer Sales, had despatched to the petitioner as its agent little over ten thousand kilograms of poppy seeds for sale on commission basis. These poppy seeds were originally imported from Turkey, as pleaded by the petitioner. The penalty was initially imposed upon seizure of the said goods, on allegation of violation of the provisions of Ss. 68and 73 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. The default of the petitioner was in their failure to produce a valid way bill, as stipulated in Rule 212(2) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1995.
(2.) The case of the petitioner in brief is that before importing the said goods, the petitioner had obtained the way bill from the concerned authority. The same, however, was valid till January 12, 2005. The goods in question reached the Chichira Check -post on February 25, 2005. As the validity period of the way bill had expired on January 12, 2005, the vehicle was detained. Under cover of a letter dated February 26, 2005, the petitioner was granted time till 4 P.M. of February 28, 2005, to produce the way bill. It is the petitioner's case that February 26 and 27, 2005 were a Saturday and a Sunday respectively and the petitioner could obtain fresh way bill only on February 28, 2005 upon surrendering the way bill which had lapsed. But the petitioner could reach the Chichira Check -post only on 6 P.M. on February 28, 2005. The delay, as pleaded by the petitioner was on account of the fact that the way bill was issued on February 28, 2005 at about 1.30 P.M. and the rest of the time was spent in transit, between Kolkata and Chichira. By that time, however, an order of seizure of the goods was passed under Sec. 70(1) of the said Act.
(3.) Thereafter, an order was passed by the Commercial Tax Officer, Chichira Check -post imposing a penalty of Rs. 5,41,171 (rupees Five lac forty one thousand one hundred and seventy one only). The petitioner applied for revision of this order before the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, who upheld the order of penalty but reduced the quantum of penalty to Rs. 4,68,010 (rupees four lac sixty eight thousand and ten only). The petitioner had approached the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal against this order by way of filing an application under Sec. 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987. This application was numbered R.N. 148 of 2005. The Tribunal in this application found the seizure to be valid. However, the Tribunal also held : It is also equally clear that the petitioner had tried his best to comply with the requirements of the statute and he might have produced a valid way bill, had he been given a little more time as provided under Sec. 70(1) of the Act, 1994.;