Section 129 of the CGST Act, 2017—Goods in Transit -—The petitioner challenged the order in GST MOV-06 dated September 29, 2022, vide which the goods in transit were seized. The counsel for the petitioners submitted that the goods were accompanied by proper documents. The owners of the goods either are the consignors or the consignees. However, the driver of the vehicle was deemed to be the owner and penalty of Rs. 4,55,548/- has been levied. The court observed that the consignors and consignees are present and accepting ownership of the seized goods. The consignors are registered dealers in the State of U.P. The clarification given by the Board vide its Circular dated 31, 2018, levy of penalty under Section 129(1)(b) was not called for and could not be justified as Section 129(1)(a) of the Act provides that where owner of the goods comes forward for payment of penalty, the amount has to be two hundred per cent of the tax payable, whereas, in the case in hand, the penalty has been levied to the tune of hundred per cent of the value of the goods.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court set aside the impugned order dated October 7, 2022 and remanded the matter back to the competent authority for passing fresh order within a period of two weeks.