M H Khanusiya Vs State of Gujarat (Gujarat High Court)
Levy of Entry Tax at the rate of 12.5% treating Excavators as motor vehicles and/or at par with the motor vehicles is hereby held to be illegal, discriminatory, violative of Article 304(a) of the Constitution of India and against the object and purpose of the levy of Entry Tax under the Entry Tax Act. It is held that the respondents – State cannot levy / charge Entry Tax on Excavators beyond Value Added Tax under the VAT Act i.e. beyond 4%.
Entry Tax on excavators treating them as motor vehicles, is illegal:
Gujarat High Court has held that levy of entry tax under Gujarat Tax on Entry of Specified Goods into the Local Areas Act, 2001 on excavators @ 12.5% is illegal, discriminatory, in violation of Article 304(a) of the Constitution and contrary to the object and purpose of enactment of the Entry Tax Act. The Court held that levy of entry tax on excavators treating them as motor vehicles, even though they were always covered by a separate entry under the Sales Tax Act and the VAT Act during -2006-07, was dehors the scheme of entry tax. It held that the State cannot levy entry tax on excavators beyond the VAT rate of 4%.
