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...

‘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...

UP VAT | Burden To Prove Purchase From Registered Dealer On Assesee: Allahabad High Court

In a revision preferred by the Tax Department, the Allahabad High Court has held that the burden to prove that purchases were made from registered dealer lies on the Assesee claiming the same. The Department cannot be made to discharge a negative burden to prove that the sales were made from unregistered dealers. Perusing Section 16 (Burden of Proof) of the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008, bench comprising of Justice Piyush Agrawal held,“It is evidently clear that the burden of proof...

KVAT Act | Tax Doesn't Apply To Transfer Of Goods But To Transfer Of 'Right To Use' Goods: Kerala High Court

In a significant ruling, the Kerala High Court recently held that the tax under the KVAT Act applied not to the transfer of goods but to the transfer of the right to use goods.A division bench of Justice A.K Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Mohammed Nias CP added that the taxable event occurs when the contract for goods delivery is executed, irrespective of whether the transfer is exclusive."...in a contract for the transfer of the right to use the goods, the taxable event is the execution...

Patna High Court Orders Railways To Refund Illegal VAT Deduction from Contractors' Bills

In a significant ruling, the Patna High Court has directed the Indian Railways to refund an amount of Rs. 38,22,897 to PCM Cement Concrete Pvt. Ltd., following an illegal VAT deduction made from the bills of the contractor.The division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarthy held, “The transaction was purely of an inter-state sale of goods and is not a works contract nor a sale of goods eligible to tax within the State of Bihar. The sale of goods as per Annexure-2 and...

Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Act, 2020 Defies The Doctrine Of Separation Of Powers: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has held that the Goa Value Added Tax (12th Amendment) Act, 2020, is an impermissible judicial override defying the doctrine of separation of powers.The bench of Justice M. S. Sonak and Justice Bharat P. Deshpande has observed that by simply not issuing sanction orders or delaying the issue of sanctions indefinitely or unreasonably, the state cannot arbitrarily deprive the parties' interests by way of compensation. A deprivation would fall foul of Articles 14, 265, and...

VAT Act, Madhya Pradesh High Court Directs Dept. To Refund Pre-Deposit With 6% Interest

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the state/commercial tax department to refund the pre-deposit amount paid during the appeal with 6% interest to the assessee.The division bench of Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice Prakash Chandra Gupta has observed that even though there is no provision for payment of interest on the refund of amounts so collected under the VAT Act, the petitioner would be eligible for 6% interest per annum w.e.f. April 17, 2017, until the date of...

Madras High Court Quashes The Criminal Proceedings Against Guarantor Of Assessee, For Assessee’s Failure To Pay Tax; States It's Only Contractual Liability And Not Criminal

The Madras High Court has quashed criminal proceedings against the guarantor of the assessee for failing to pay the tax dues of the latter to the Commercial Tax Department. The Commercial Tax Officer (CTO) filed a private complaint before the Judicial Magistrate against the assessee as well as the petitioner, who stood as a guarantor with respect to the tax arrears of the business done by the assessee. The Court remarked that though the petitioner had executed an undertaking or a...

VAT Department Not To Initiate Coercive Measures Against PSU Pawan Hans: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has granted a stay to helicopter charterer PSU Pawan Hans Ltd. against a VAT demand of Rs. 176 crores.The division bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Amit Mahajan has observed that the issue needs consideration and directed the VAT department not to initiate coercive measures for recovery of the VAT demand confirmed by the Delhi VAT Tribunal in the interim.The appellant/assessee stated that it is in the business of chartering helicopters and has entered into...

State Of Tripura Has No Jurisdiction To Levy VAT For Supply Of LPG Cylinder Under Work Orders Executed Outside The State: Tripura High Court

The Tripura High Court has ruled that the State of Tripura has no jurisdiction to levy VAT under the Tripura Value Added Tax Act, 2004 (TVAT), on transport or supply of LPG cylinders to Tripura under the work orders executed outside the State. The bench of Acting Chief Justice T. Amarnath Goud and Justice Arindam Lodh held that that the situs of the sale would be the place where the contracts were executed. The Court further held that transport of LPG cylinders by the assessee under the...

VAT Act Do Not Provide For The Registration Of FIR: Punjab And Haryana High Court Quashes FIR For Alleged Tax Evasion

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that the provisions of the VAT Act do not provide for the registration of the FIR, and since the VAT Act is a code in itself, the provisions of the IPC also cannot be invoked. Therefore, an FIR could not have been registered against a person who has allegedly evaded tax.The single bench of Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi has observed that there is no provision for the registration of an FIR in matters such as those of alleged tax evasion. The provisions of...