Sub-section (1) of Section 129 of the CGST Act / SGST Act , 2017 embodies following provisions :
129. Detention, Seizure and release of goods and conveyances in transit :
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where any person transports any goods or stores any goods while they are in transit in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, all such goods and conveyance used as a means of transport for carrying the said goods and documents relating to such goods and conveyances shall be liable to detention or seizure and after detention or seizure, shall be released,––
(a) on payment of the applicable tax and penalty equal to one hundred per cent. of the tax payable on such goods and, in case of exempted goods, on payment of an amount equal to two per cent of the value of goods or twenty five thousand rupees, whichever is less, where the owner of the goods comes forward for payment of such tax and penalty;
(b) on payment of the applicable tax and penalty equal to the fifty per cent. of the value of the goods reduced by the tax amount paid thereon and, in case of
exempted goods, on payment of an amount equal to five per cent of the value of goods or twenty five thousand rupees, whichever is less, where the owner of the goods does not come forward for payment of such tax and penalty;
(c) upon furnishing a security equivalent to the amount payable under clause (a) or clause (b) in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
Provided that no such goods or conveyance shall be detained or seized without serving an order of detention or seizure on the person transporting the goods.
Also sub-section (3) and sub-section (5) of this section embodies following provisions :
(3) The proper officer detaining or seizing goods or conveyances shall issue a notice specifying the tax and penalty payable and thereafter, pass an order for payment of tax and penalty under clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c ).
(5) On payment of amount referred in sub-section (1), all proceedings in respect of the notice specified in subsection (3) shall be deemed to be concluded.
A close study of the aforesaid provisions makes it quite evident that once a notice is issued under sub-section (3) of section 129 and in pursuant of this notice an order is also passed in this sub-section and the concerned person deposits the requisite tax and penalty amount in compliance of this order, then according to the provisions of sub-section (5) of section 129 , all the proceedings in respect of the notice specified in subsection (3) shall be deemed to be concluded.
However this sub-section (5) does not mince a word about penalty order and does not envisage that no remedial proceedings against the penalty order passed under section 129(3) can be carried out under the Act . Thus there is no room for any doubt that the order passed under sub-section (3) of section 129 is appealable under section 107(1) and falls under the ambit of “by any decision or order passed under this Act or the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union territory Goods and Services Tax Act by an adjudicating authority” as envisaged by this sub-section . It is pertinent to note that sub-section (1) of section 107 embodies following provisions :
107. Appeals to Appellate Authority :
(1) Any person aggrieved by any decision or order passed under this Act or the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union territory Goods and Services Tax Act by an adjudicating authority may appeal to such Appellate Authority as may be prescribed within three months from the date on which the said decision or order is communicated to such person.
The PEN TALKS 