Calcutta High Court Upholds Petitioner's Plea on Disallowed 'D' Form Certificates

The High Court of Calcutta allowed the petitioner's plea in a case concerning the disallowance of "D" form certificates by the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board due to missing dates and purchase order references. The Court emphasized that the omission of dates and purchase order details should not automatically lead to rejection if transaction particulars are evident from the form. The Court directed the Board to adopt a rational approach and granted the petitioner an opportunity to resubmit the certificates for due credit without cost implications.

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Issues: Disallowance of "D" form certificates by the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board due to lack of dates and purchase order references.

The judgment delivered by the High Court of Calcutta addresses the complaint raised by the petitioner regarding the hyper-technical disallowance of "D" form certificates obtained from the Government of Mizoram by the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board. The impugned order dated April 17, 2015 highlighted that the "D" certificates lacked dates of issue and any reference to purchase orders, leading to the disallowance of a significant claim amount. The Court observed that if the "D" forms had included issue dates and purchase order details, or if the petitioner had produced corresponding purchase orders, the Board might have accepted the certificates. The petitioner's reliance on a previous judgment emphasized that omission of the date of issue would not be fatal if transaction particulars were evident from the form. Additionally, the judgment recognized that not every transaction, even with a government entity like the Government of Mizoram, necessitates a written purchase order. The Court stressed the need for a rational approach by the Board, suggesting that unless there are additional grounds for suspicion, mere omissions in the form should not lead to rejection. Consequently, the Court allowed the petitioner's plea, setting aside the impugned order and granting the petitioner an opportunity to resubmit the "D" forms to the Assessing Authority for due credit without any cost implications. The Court also directed the provision of urgent certified website copies of the order to the concerned parties upon request, subject to formalities.

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