Case Law Details
Akums Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd Vs Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Uttarakhand High Court)
Whether the order of the Sales Tax Tribunal, Uttarakhand in holding that the revisionist is not entitled to reduce the levy of Central Sales Tax @ 1% for the financial year 2010-11 onwards) after the Capital Investment of Plant and Machinery, having exceeded R. 25 Crores in it’s Unit-1, as on 18.03.2010, is erroneous in the facts of this case?
As per the Industrial Policy Vision Note in the year 2001 envisaged by the Government Order, the total capital investment in Plant and Machinery by assessee has to be determined by a Committee constituted by the State Government in that behalf. Admittedly, in this case there is no decision of the Committee and the Assessing Officer has himself assessed the capital investment. The learned counsel appearing of the revisionist has taken us to the order passed by the Assessing Officer and the Tribunals. A careful reading of all the orders reveal that the total capital investment has never been assessed by any Committee as envisaged under Condition No.1 of the Notification referred to above. Thus, it is clear that the law governing the field provided for the assessment of the capital investment by a Committee whereas the same has never been done in this case.
It is trite that if the law provides that a particular procedure has to be followed while deciding an issue or a lis before the authorities then the procedure should be followed according to the law established and not otherwise.
Thus, it is clear that in this case while imposing the Tax at the rate of 2% the Assessing Officer has not considered the assessment determined by any Committee, further he has relied on his own assessment. In that view of the matter, the order passed by the Assessing Authority, confirmed by the Appellate Authority and the Commercial Tax Appellate Tribunal is not sustainable. In that view of the matter, the Central Tax Revision is allowed. The orders passed by the learned Commercial Tax Tribunal dated 16.06.20 17, in Second Appeal No. 08 of 2017 (2011-2012)….Central); order dated 27.11.2016 passed by the Joint Commissioner (Appeal)-II, Commercial Tax, Haridwar; and the order dated 27.03.2015, passed by the Assessing Authority are hereby set aside. The matter is remanded back to the Assessing Officer with a direction to the Commissioner of Commercial Tax Uttarakhand, Dehradun to move the Government for formation of the Committee as envisaged in the Notifications referred to above and refer the matter for determination of the exact and total capital investment by the revisionist for the period under consideration and, thereafter, issue a fresh assessment order in favour of the respondent.
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