Supreme Court Refuses To Interfere With Ruling In Tata Steel Case, Upholds Entry Tax On H.R. Sheets
Kirit Singhania
20 April 2026 11:17 AM IST
The Supreme Court of India on Monday declined to interfere with a ruling of the Allahabad High Court that hot rolled (H.R.) coils and H.R. sheets are not the same commodity, and that tax exemption available to coils cannot be claimed for sheets, thereby restoring entry tax and penalty against Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd.
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi found no ground to interfere with the order of the Allahabad high court and dismissed the special leave petition.
The dispute arose from proceedings under the Entry Tax and VAT laws involving Tata Steel Processing and Distribution Ltd for the assessment year 2015-16, concerning levy of entry tax and penalty on H.R. Sheets. The company purchased H.R. Coils and cut them into sheets, arguing that no manufacturing activity was involved and both products were essentially the same, thereby claiming exemption.
The assessing authority treated H.R. Sheets as a distinct commodity and levied tax and penalty, which was upheld in first appeal but later set aside by the Commercial Tax Tribunal.
On a revision petition filed by the Commissioner of Commercial Tax (Revenue), the Allahabad High Court set aside the Tribunal's order and held that H.R. Coils and H.R. Sheets are distinct commercial commodities with different identity, use and treatment under tax law. The court ruled that the exemption applicable to coils could not be extended to sheets and upheld the levy of tax and penalty in favour of the Revenue.