The Rajya Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2629, answered on August 11, 2026, on “Wrongful Detention of Vehicles under GST” was answered by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Shri Pankaj Chaudhary. The Question sought details regarding detention of vehicles under Section 129 of the CGST Act for minor or clerical errors in e-way bills, State/UT-wise detention orders during the last three years and measures to prevent wrongful detention for technical or procedural lapses.
The Government informed the Rajya Sabha that no instance of vehicles being detained under Section 129 of the CGST Act for minor or clerical errors in e-way bills, despite existing CBIC guidelines, has come to its notice.
The Government furnished State/UT-wise data on detention orders issued by Central Tax formations under Section 129 of the CGST Act, 2017. A total of 706 detention orders were issued in FY 2023-24, 900 in FY 2024-25 and 472 in FY 2025-26, taking the three-year total to 2,078 orders.
Of these orders, three detention orders were set aside by appellate authorities or courts in FY 2023-24, none in FY 2024-25 and one in FY 2025-26, taking the total number set aside during the three-year period to four.
In FY 2023-24, Jharkhand recorded the highest number of detention orders at 214, followed by Rajasthan at 197 and Uttar Pradesh at 104. Of the three orders set aside during the year, two pertained to Jharkhand and one to Bihar.
In FY 2024-25, Jharkhand again recorded the highest number of detention orders at 276, followed by Rajasthan at 219 and Bihar at 125. None of the 900 detention orders issued during the year was reported as having been set aside by appellate authorities or courts.
During FY 2025-26, the number of detention orders declined to 472, with Jharkhand accounting for 156 orders, Rajasthan 77, Uttar Pradesh 63 and West Bengal 56. One detention order relating to West Bengal was set aside by an appellate authority or court during the year.
On safeguards against wrongful detention, the Government referred to Circular No. 41/15/2018-GST dated April 13, 2018, which prescribes a standardised, form-based procedure for interception, inspection, detention and release of goods and conveyances. The Government said the procedure ensures that action under Section 129 follows a documented and time-bound process and limits discretion of field formations regarding the procedure to be followed after interception.
The Government also highlighted Circular No. 64/38/2018-GST dated September 14, 2018, which was issued specifically to prevent indiscriminate invocation of Section 129 for minor documentation errors. The Circular clarifies that proceedings under Section 129 need not be initiated where the lapse is a bona fide clerical or technical error.
Such errors include spelling mistakes in the name of the consignor or consignee, minor errors in the vehicle number, incorrect PIN code, an error in one or two digits of a document number, or non-mention of one of the two addresses in a bill-to-ship-to transaction.
For these specified minor lapses, the Circular provides for only a nominal penalty of ₹500 each under Section 125 of the CGST and SGST Acts, amounting to ₹1,000, or ₹1,000 under the IGST Act, instead of detention proceedings under Section 129.
The Government further stated that Section 129 of the CGST Act, 2017 contains prescribed timelines and procedures as well as safeguards based on the principles of natural justice before any penalty under the provision is imposed for a contravention.
The Answer can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/RS-Wrongful-detention-of-vehicles-under-GST-11.08.2026.pdf
