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10. In my view therefore apart from the falsehood of the representation it is not necessary to establish mens-rea as an independent factor. Normally in view of the aforesaid judgments of this Court I should have referred the matter to a larger Bench but in my view this is not necessary because from the facts that were established on record even mens-reas was established.

11. In S.T.R. No. 129 of 1994 the assessee held a registration certificate only for biscuits while it purchased toffees and issued Form C. Admittedly, the representation in Form C was made in order to gain a financial advantage by paying tax at a lower rate and thereby depriving the State of a portion of the tax leviable on the sale of toffees. The provisions of the Central Sales Tax Act lay obligation on a dealer to act carefully while issuing Form C and conduct of the assessee shows that he was atleast grossly negligent if not deliberately false. The dealer's conduct cannot be termed as bona fide as it was patently done without due care and caution. The mere fact that the same company i.e. Parle Products sold biscuits as well as toffees to the dealer and invoice for the two was the same did not absolve the dealer from the wrong obligation that lay on him to act with due care and caution in using a statutory document like Form C. There is nothing in the orders of the authorities below that could make representation of the respondent true or even bona fide. Therefore, the respondent's conduct in making a wrong statement to gain a tax advantage and doing so with negligence makes representation false within the meaning of Section 10-A read with Section 10 (b) which as stated above deals with a civil liability and not a criminal offence. The word 'falsely' might have slightly different interpretation if the criminal prosecution was launched but here is a case of penalty which is levied to compensate the revenue and coerce the delinquent in complying with the law. Therefore, in my view the default contemplated with Section 10-A read with Section 10 (b) was clearly made out.