Agreement To Provide Manpower For Maintenance Is Contract Of Service And Not A Sale Under MVAT Act: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that an agreement to provide manpower to perform maintenance is a contract of service and not a sale contract under the MVAT Act.The bench of Justice K. R. Shriram and Justice Neela Gokhale has observed that the pith and substance of the contract or true nature of the transaction show that the contract is a contract for service simpliciter and is not a works contract or composite contract consisting of two contracts, one for service and one for sale, but is an...

UP VAT Act | Enhancement Of Turnover Not A Necessary Consequence To Rejection Of Books Of Accounts: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that turnover cannot be enhanced merely based on rejection of books of accounts. There has to be material as to suppression of turnover by the assesee to indicate evasion of tax.Relying on various judgments of the Allahabad High Court, Justice Piyush Agrawal held “Once the findings of fact has been recorded in favour of the petitioner, there is no cogent reason for enhancing the turnover. The tribunal was not justified in confirming the enhancement of turnover...

Rejection Of Books Of Accounts Under UPVAT Act Will Not Necessarily Lead To Rejection Of Books Under Central Sales Tax Act: Allahabad HC Reiterates

The Allahabad High Court has reiterated that in absence of any material on record, rejection of books of accounts under local laws cannot be the sole ground for rejection of books of accounts under Central Sales Tax Act.“Merely because books of account under local sales have been rejected, the same will not necessarily be the ground for rejecting the books of account under Central Sales Tax Act also in the absence of any cogent material available on record,” held Justice Piyush Agrawal....

Kerala High Court Rejects Assessee ’s Claim For Service Tax Refund To Meet VAT Demand On Pest Control Contract

The Kerala High Court has rejected the assessee's claim for a service tax refund to meet the VAT demand on the pest control contract.The bench of Justice Anu Sivaraman has observed that the claim of the petitioner that the service tax authorities must be directed to meet the demand for VAT, if any, found payable by the petitioner cannot be accepted.The petitioner or assessee is in the business of pest control. As per the assessee, pest control falls under the category of a service contract and...

UPVAT Rules | Stricter Approach To Be Followed Before Giving Benefit Of Exemptions/ Deductions: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that though in case of doubt, taxing statues are to be interpreted in favour of the assesee. However, a stricter approach needs to be followed before giving the benefit of exemptions and deductions.“The general rule of law in taxing statutes is that in case of any doubt the benefit should be given to the assessee. However, in case of exemption and deduction to be given, a stricter approach may be followed, as per catena of judgments of the Supreme Court, to...

UP VAT Act | Definition Of “Goods” Under Sec. 2(m) And Sec. 13(1)(f) Includes Taxable As Well As Exempted Goods: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has held that the definition of “Goods” under Section 2(m) of Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 (“UP VAT Act”) includes both taxable as well as exempted goods. Similarly, the word “goods” under Section 13(1)(f) of the UP VAT Act cannot be said to be qualified by the word “taxable”.The Bench comprising the Chief Justice Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, has held that the legislative intent behind the 2010 amendment to the UP VAT...

UP VAT Act | Assessee Entitled To Claim Full Input Tax Credit On Exempted Goods Produced As By-Products Or Waste Products During Manufacturing Of Taxable Goods : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court while relying on Explanation (iii) to Section 13 of Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 (“UP VAT Act”), has held that if during the manufacture of any taxable good any tax exempted goods are produced as by-product/waste product, then it shall be deemed that the goods purchased from within the State for such manufacturing have been used in manufacture of taxable goods alone. Thus, the Assessee would be entitled to claim full benefit of Input Tax Credit (“ITC”) in respect of...

UPVAT | Exemption/Concession Form Not Produced During Assessment Due To Unavoidable Circumstances, Can Be Considered By Tribunal: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has held that if a form through which exemption/concession has been claimed under the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 could not be produced at the time of assessment due to unavoidable circumstances, the same can be produced before the Tribunal. The Tribunal is bound to consider it before passing any order.The bench comprising of Justice Piyush Agrawal held,“The transaction already claimed by the applicant as exempt/concession rate of tax in its hand, the form,...

UPVAT Act | Family Entitled To Insurance Money Under Group Insurance Policy If Registration Valid On Date Of Death Of Registered Dealer: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court held that if registration under the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 was subsisting on the day of his death, his family would be entitled to insurance claim under the Group Insurance Policy.The bench comprising of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Surendra Singh-I held“If the deceased held a registration certificate prior to the occurrence of his death and that registration did not stand cancelled on the date of occurrence of his death, the status of the deceased...

State Amendments Made To VAT Acts After GST Came Into Effect Are Invalid : Supreme Court

A Division Bench of the Supreme Court, while deciding the appeals arising from judgments of Telangana, Gujarat and Bombay High Court with respect to the validity of VAT Amendment Act in their respective states, made several significant findings regarding Section 19 of the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act (Amendment), 2016, which allowed the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax.Inter-alia, the issue was about the legislative competence of the State enactments after 01.07.2017 i.e. beyond...

GSTN Issues Advisory On Compliance Pertaining To Difference In ITC Available In GSTR-2B & ITC Claimed In GSTR-R3B

The Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) has issued the advisory in respect of introduction of compliance pertaining to DRC-01C (Difference in Input Tax Credit (ITC) available in GSTR-2B & ITC claimed in the GSTR-R3B).The Government inserted the Rule 88D in CGST Rule, 2017 dealing with difference in input tax credit available in GSTR-2B and ITC availed in GSTR-3B. The functionality has now started operating on the GST portal.The system now compares the ITC available as per GSTR-2B/2BQ with...

‘Kurkure’ And ‘Cheetos’ Classifiable As ‘Namkeen’, Not ‘Snacks’ Under VAT Act: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has held that ‘Kurkure’ and ‘Cheetos’ are classifiable as ‘namkeen’, not 'snacks' under the VAT Act.The bench of Justice Sameer Jain observed that the department neither sought any technical or expert opinion nor brought any evidence on record to prove their point. It appears that the Tax Board merely relied on a basic Google search result wherein the goods, namely ‘Kurkure’ and 'Cheetos', were described as Namkeen snacks.The petitioner-assessee is in the sale of various...