Import value for entry tax includes incidental VAT shown in the invoice when goods enter a local area.

VAT shown in the invoice formed part of the import value for entry tax under the Assam Entry Tax Act because the charging scheme treats the invoice value as including charges incidentally levied on the purchase of the goods. The Court held that the relevant entry point was delivery of crude oil through the pipeline into the local area, and that VAT, being incidental to the purchase and reflected in the invoice, fell within the assessable base even without express statutory mention. The assessment was therefore upheld and the challenge failed.

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Issues: Whether VAT shown in the invoice formed part of the import value for levy of entry tax under the Assam Entry Tax Act.

Analysis: The charging provision fastens entry tax on the entry of specified goods into a local area, and the definition of import value takes the value from the original invoice together with charges incidentally levied on the purchase of such goods. The Court held that the point of delivery of crude oil through pipeline into the local area was the relevant entry point, and that VAT, being incidental to the purchase and reflected in the invoice, fell within the expression "all other charges incidentally levied on the purchase of such goods." The absence of an express reference to VAT did not exclude it from the computation base, and the factual distinctions sought to be raised were not supported by the record.

Conclusion: VAT was includible in the import value for computing entry tax, and the challenge to the assessment failed.

Ratio Decidendi: For entry tax purposes, the invoice value of goods entering a local area includes all charges incidentally levied on the purchase, and a tax component that is incidental to the purchase may be included in the assessable import value even if not expressly named in the statute.

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