2023 (12) TMI 1353 - HC - VAT / Sales Tax

Section 75 Gujarat VAT Act does not authorize pre-deposit orders in revision proceedings unlike Section 73(4)

M/s LAXMI DYE CHEM Versus STATE OF GUJARAT

Gujarat HC allowed the petition challenging Tribunal's order requiring pre-deposit of outstanding tax amount in revision proceedings under Section 75 of ... Rejection of revision application on the ground of non-compliance of the order of pre-deposit - whether the Tribunal was justified in directing the petitioner to predeposit the outstanding tax amount in the revisional proceedings filed under Section 75 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003? - HELD THAT:- On conjoint reading of the provisions of the GVAT Act, it is clear that the provisions of Section 75 of the GVAT Act would be applicable in case of an application made to the Tribunal against an order of the Commissioner, not being an order passed under sub-section (2) of Section 73 of the GVAT Act in second appeal under Clause (a) of sub-section (1) of Section 75 of the GVAT Act. Therefore, it is clear that any application made to the Tribunal under Section 75(1)(b) of the GVAT Act would be an application challenging the order against which no appeal is filed under Section 73 of the GVAT Act, which is not an appealable under Section 74 of the GVAT Act as well as no application before the Tribunal could be filed against any order passed by the Commissioner under Section 75(1)(a) of the GVAT Act. On bare perusal of Section 75 of the GVAT Act, it does not provide for passing any order of pre-deposit as it is provided under Section 73(4) of the GVAT Act. Therefore, the impugned order of the Tribunal dated 21st March 2023 is beyond the scope of Section 75 of the GVAT Act insisting for pre-deposit to entertain the revision applications filed by the petitioner. The impugned order dated 21st March 2023 passed by the Tribunal, being contrary to the provisions under Section 75 of the GVAT Act, is hereby quashed and set aside - Petition allowed. Issues:Challenge to orders passed by the Gujarat Value Added Tax Tribunal on pre-deposit requirement in revision applications.Analysis:The petitioner challenged the orders passed by the Gujarat Value Added Tax Tribunal directing pre-deposit of specific amounts to entertain revision applications. The Tribunal later rejected the revision applications due to non-compliance with the pre-deposit order. The issue revolved around the justification of the Tribunal's directive for pre-deposit under Section 75 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (GVAT Act). The petitioner contended that the Tribunal exceeded its authority by ordering pre-deposit under Section 75, which does not explicitly provide for such a requirement. The petitioner filed Revision Applications against orders of the Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Appeal-1 Ahmedabad for the assessment period 2011-12 under Section 75 of the GVAT Act read with Section 9(2) of the CST Act. The Tribunal's decision was based on Section 73 of the GVAT Act, mandating pre-deposit before filing an appeal. The advocate for the petitioner argued that the Tribunal's actions were not in line with the provisions of Section 75 of the GVAT Act, which does not mention pre-deposit requirements.The respondent authorities justified the Tribunal's pre-deposit order by citing Section 73 of the GVAT Act, which necessitates pre-deposit before appealing to the Tribunal. The Tribunal's decision was based on Section 73, which requires pre-deposit as a condition for filing an appeal. The advocates for both parties presented arguments based on the relevant sections of the GVAT Act to support their positions. The petitioner's advocate highlighted Sections 73, 74, and 75 of the GVAT Act to demonstrate that the Tribunal's pre-deposit order was not in line with Section 75. The respondent authorities argued that the Tribunal's actions were justified under Section 73, which mandates pre-deposit before filing an appeal.Upon analyzing the provisions of the GVAT Act, the Court concluded that the Tribunal's order of pre-deposit was beyond the scope of Section 75, which does not provide for pre-deposit requirements like Section 73. The Court allowed both petitions, quashed the Tribunal's orders dated March 21, 2023, and June 30, 2023, and restored the Revision Applications to the Tribunal's file. The Court held that the Tribunal's orders were contrary to the provisions of Section 75 of the GVAT Act and, therefore, set them aside. The judgment clarified that applications under Section 75 challenging orders not appealable under Section 73 do not entail pre-deposit requirements, as mandated by the Act.