78. Transit of goods by road through the State and issue of transit pass

(1) Where a vehicle or carrier coming from any place outside the State and bound for any place outside the State and carrying any goods bound for any place outside the State, passes through the State, the owner, the driver or the person incharge of such vehicle or carrier or goods shall obtain in such manner and on payment of such fee, as may be prescribed, a transit pass for such goods from the Incharge of the first check–post or barrier after his entry into the State and deliver it to the Incharge of the last check–post or barrier before his exit from the State.

(2) In case of transshipment of goods being transported under sub–section (1) the owner or driver or person incharge of such vehicle or carrier of such goods shall furnish such information to such authority and in such manner as may be prescribed.

(3) Where such owner, driver or person incharge fails to deliver such transit pass in respect of any goods in accordance with the provisions of sub–section (1) or is found to have suppressed or given false particulars of any consignment of goods in his application for issue of transit pass, it shall be presumed that such goods have been sold within the State by the owner, the driver or the person incharge of the vehicle or the carrier or the goods and the Incharge of the check–post or barrier from where such transit pass was issued or an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer authorised by the Commissioner, after having afforded an opportunity of being heard to such owner, driver or person incharge, shall make an order that notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, such owner, driver or person incharge shall pay tax on such sale together with the penalty equal to double the amount of such tax.

(4) The system of transit pass as provided in sub–sections (1) and (3) shall come into force from such date and at such check–post or barrier as may be notified by the Commissioner from time to time.