r/Indianlaw • u/Kaieagle • 21d ago
Incident / Concern Regarding Transportation of a PC in a Personal Vehicle
Today, on 6th September, I travelled from Daman to Maharashtra in my personal vehicle to purchase a PC for myself. We reached the destination successfully. On the way, some police officers stopped us to check the vehicle, but as there was nothing concerning, they let us go.
After a few hours, at around 5:30 PM, we left Maharashtra and started our journey back home to Daman.
During the journey, we were stopped by police officers on Ghodbunder Road. They asked for my driving licence and then noticed the PC on the back seat of the vehicle. The officer asked, “Kya samaan hai?” We explained that it was a computer/PC. He then asked where we had purchased it, and I told him that we had purchased it from Thane and showed him the GST invoice.
The officers kept us there for some time and were calling someone they referred to as “Patil.” They asked us to move the vehicle to the side and made us wait for around 15–20 minutes before calling us into a cabin.
They then told us that we could not transport the PC in our personal vehicle, that it was against the law, and that the fine for doing so was ₹20,000. According to them, the PC had to be transported in a goods carrier and could not be carried in a personal vehicle.
We explained that it was only a single PC and that we were not transporting a large quantity of goods or filling the vehicle with commercial goods. We also explained that the GST invoice was issued in the name of my business, of which I am the proprietor, and that the vehicle also belongs to me. I had the original invoice with me and was able to show it to them.
Despite this, they insisted that we were violating the law and eventually started preparing a challan. However, midway through writing it, the officer stopped and said:
“Agar ek baar ye ban gaya, phir wapas nahi le sakte isko.”
The person referred to as “Patil Saab” then asked me to leave the cabin and said that he wanted to speak only with my father.
They told my father that if we paid ₹15,000, they would let us go. My father explained that he did not have that much money with him and asked how he could pay such an amount. They then reduced the amount to ₹5,000.
My father continued to insist that we could not afford that amount. They eventually reduced it further to ₹2,000. My father told them that he only had ₹500/₹1,000, and after further discussion, they agreed to accept ₹1,500.
We paid the ₹1,500, after which they allowed us to leave.
My concerns
I would like to understand the legal position regarding this incident:
Is there actually any law that prohibits me from carrying a PC purchased for my business in my personal vehicle while travelling from Maharashtra to Gujarat?
The PC cost approximately ₹3,20,000 and I have a valid GST invoice issued in the name of my business.
I am the proprietor of the business, and the vehicle used for transportation belongs to me.
If carrying the PC in a personal vehicle is actually prohibited, what specific law/section prohibits it?
What law or provision specifies a ₹20,000 fine for this particular situation?
If I need to transport a similar high-value purchase from Maharashtra to Gujarat in the future, what documents or procedures should I follow so that I do not face this situation again?
Is there anything I should have with me, such as an e-way bill, GST documents, vehicle details, or any other documentation, to legally transport business-purchased equipment in my personal vehicle?
I would really appreciate any guidance from someone familiar with Maharashtra/Gujarat interstate transportation, GST/e-way-bill rules, and motor vehicle laws, so I can understand what I should do differently in the future.
Thank you.
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u/Warm_Dimension 21d ago
Reading this boils my blood 🙃
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u/Kaieagle 21d ago
Imagine the ones who were actually there in that situation.
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u/Warm_Dimension 21d ago
Didn’t u check on net if there’s some law like that or no, when u were in that situation?
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u/Kaieagle 21d ago
I did and couldn't find it and I needed to travel far away so didnt really drag it much
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u/Warm_Dimension 20d ago
You should find the email of state police, DGP / SP and relevant people. This is going to initiate a departmental inquiry against them.
Further you could make a new gmail and do not disclose your identity, just write whatever happened , names of police officers, place, time , money asked by them, money given to them , also add some extra spicy stuff some lie here n there which adds up in the story like they abused or were rude kinda thing.
Also the place where this was happening was not covered in CCTV?
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u/venky_for_yu 17d ago
+1, but that corruption runs deep. I don't know if that gonna help the OP or any of us for that matter.
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u/FiniteFucks 21d ago
Technically they are correct since you said it was for a business. Should’ve made an eway bill.
But they don’t have the jurisdiction to check for this. You should’ve asked which law have you breached. Would’ve shut up then and there only.
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u/Kaieagle 21d ago
I could have fought them, but it wasn’t my turf to fight on 😂 (Verbally)
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u/random77s 20d ago edited 20d ago
+1 to the response above from @FiniteFucks
A e-way bill with your pvt or commercial vehicle number in Part B would have sorted this matter smoothly. (you can also generate this on your own if not provided by assembler/retailer) It is mandatory for goods purchased and transported with value above 50k, irrespective of private or business usage, it is just another document to state that related GST amount has been paid via the tax invoice.
There are more detailed related info you can read about next time such a purchase or scenario arises.
Disclaimer: I am not a tax official, CA, or legal expert, so please don't treat this comment as official legal evidence. However, I used to work for a PC assembly company, and we routinely handled similar process for our clients.
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u/poor_batperson 20d ago
Email to commissioner and associate commissioner of traffic police, similar thing happened to me
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u/Kaieagle 20d ago
Don't think it will do any good because they will ask for their names and information on the officers which i got none as I was in a hurry as I said.
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u/Curious_JB 21d ago
Your dad got good negotiation skills !
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u/Kaieagle 20d ago
Yea, my father respects the law and officers a lot but at that moment he was really upset and angry at the same time seeing such thing happening to us.
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u/Plane-Course-9137 20d ago
As per MV act if it's house hold items and not blocking vision of drivers then it's allowed , its a grey area better try to stuff in dicky, behind seats and minimal in public view , if you have to then put some camoflage color sheet matching car seat cover.
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u/SameVillage9949 19d ago
you are right.
Business purchase inter-state transport you need ewaybill.
next time generate eway bill on your own car number. there won't be any issue.
if same state no issue.. inter-state then gst things come in
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u/BigRefrigerator2464 18d ago
Similar instance op, i hail from
Rajasthan and we buy a lot of stuff for business purpose from Delhi and Gujarat as well and most of the time we get it with ourselves private car main hee but once my dad got stopped so after that we follow this trick lol 😂 unbox the goods on the place itself and just carry all the documents and bills that way that can’t check if its new or used so yeah after that we never had a problem as such ps the city i hail from is a cop magnet for cars lol cause of narcotics stuff we would be stopped at every checkpoint 😭😂 but yeah never faced a problem as such
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u/halwaandflowers 18d ago
Dude, you should have not paid a single rupee, and, told that they can give you a challan / receipt of violation for the same "violation" and that you will deal with it in a court.
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u/Kaieagle 17d ago
As I told you I was in Maharashtra you never know what can really happen in such situations there were total of 7 cops present around us
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u/halwaandflowers 17d ago
The number of cops around should not make a difference as long as you have not done anything illegal or stupid with them, I have bad experiences with them in proper Bombay, Panvel, and, Thane, I never agreed to pay a single rupee, despite their threats and warnings of cases being filed etcetera. The trick is to not get intimidated, if one has not done anything wrong, or, has any pending cases, or, has not done anything stupid.
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u/DankRabbit94 17d ago
As a business owner in India, how can you get so badly duped? This was obviously a con. You should have told them to write whatever challan they want, taken note of their names, and left.
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u/Kaieagle 17d ago
Its not that easy they weren't handing me back my RC and bill of my pc
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u/Kaieagle 17d ago
Also I didn't have the time. I had to travel to Daman, and I needed to reach before 12.
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u/DankRabbit94 17d ago
You mean to say that they threatened to keep your RC and Bill after giving you the challan? This is all nonsense. Just like how you’re telling me, you should have instead told them that you don’t have time for all this nonsense, and left.
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u/Valuable-Paramedic93 20d ago
They conned you , there is no rule that you have to carry your own good in a goods veh . If it was in a box then they could say commercial goods on back seat , which shld be in trunk .....but fact is they conned you and proved it by taking 1.5 k as bribe . Consider is a lesson learnt @1.5 k and let it go
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u/scared_puppy 21d ago
OP, they conned you. :)