Appellate Tribunal upholds abatement of sales tax in West Bengal, emphasizing tax remains payable.

The Appellate Tribunal in Kolkata dismissed the Revenue's appeal against the abatement of sales tax payable in West Bengal. The Tribunal upheld the Commissioner's decision, emphasizing that the sales tax collected remains payable and eligible for deduction, regardless of the state's incentive scheme allowing manufacturers to retain sales tax collected. Citing relevant precedents, the Tribunal found no fault in the Commissioner's order and concluded that the abatement should apply to the total sales tax amount, not just the amount actually paid. As a result, the appeal against the abatement of sales tax payable in West Bengal was dismissed.

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Issues:
- Appeal against abatement of sales tax payable in West Bengal

Analysis:
The Appellate Tribunal, Kolkata, heard an appeal filed by the Revenue against an order allowing abatement in sales tax payable in West Bengal. The Revenue contended that the abatement should only apply to actually paid sales tax. However, the Tribunal referred to a previous case involving M/s. Eastern Copper Mfg. Co. (P) Ltd., where a similar appeal by the Revenue was dismissed. The Tribunal upheld the Commissioner's decision, citing the case of Pratap Rajasthan SPI Steel Ltd., which established that the liability of goods to sales tax is not in question, and the state's incentive scheme allowing manufacturers to retain sales tax collected does not change the character of the amount collected. Therefore, the sales tax collected remains payable and eligible for deduction. The Tribunal found no fault in the Commissioner's order based on this reasoning and dismissed the appeal. Consequently, the appeal against the abatement of sales tax payable in West Bengal was also dismissed by the Tribunal.

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