Tripura High Court Orders Release Of Vehicles Detained For Not Carrying E-Way Bills

Tripura High Court Orders Release Of Vehicles Detained For Not Carrying E-Way Bills

Since the three detained vehicles were meant to provide ambulance services, the Court found it inappropriate to allow further detention of the vehicles

The Tripura High Court released vehicles since it was for the business of providing ambulance services, which were originally detained for not carrying e-way bills while being transported.

The Division Bench of the High Court of Tripura, comprising Chief Justice Akil Kureshi and Justice S.G. Chattopadhyay, dealt with the matter titled East India InfoTech Pvt Ltd v The State of Tripura & Ors.

The Petitioner – Company through a writ petition had challenged the action of the Respondent – Authorities in seizing and detaining three ambulances on the ground that the vehicles did not carry e-way bills while being transported by road from Bilaspur (Chhattisgarh) to Agartala.

The Petitioner contended that all applicable taxes on these inter-state sales had been paid and, therefore, the detention and seizure of these vehicles were without any jurisdiction. On the other hand, the Respondent – Authorities submitted that the Petitioner had an alternative remedy wherein a show-cause notice was issued against the Petitioner by the Respondent – Authorities, but the Petitioner chose not to file a reply.

The Court, after going through the material on record, directed the Petitioner to file a reply to the show-cause notices in order to complete the assessment for levying tax with or without penalty.

However, the bench noted the prime defence of the Petitioner that he was not a registered dealer but wanted to start a business of providing ambulance service. Due to this reason, the Court found it inappropriate to allow further detention of the vehicles.

The Ambulances were thus released by the Court after imposing certain conditions, pending the final assessment before the appropriate authority.