TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2008 (3) TMI 499
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.... by a Division Bench of the Karnataka High Court dismissing the writ petition and the sales tax revision petition filed by the appellant. The Writ Petition No. 18392 of 2005 was filed under articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, 1950 (in short, "the Constitution") with a prayer to quash the assessment orders on the ground that they are contrary to the policy notification issued by the Karnataka Government. The sales tax revision petition was filed under section 23(1) of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 (in short, "the Act") against the judgment and order dated June 29, 2004 passed by the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore (in short, "the Tribunal"). The only question that arose for consideration in the petitions before t....
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....99 and thus notifications did not cover tax leviable under section 6 of the Act on the purchase value of arecanut effected from registered and unregistered dealers. It is to be noted that the writ petition related to the assessment years 2001-02 and 2002-03 while revision petition related to assessment years 1999-2000 and 2000-01. Stand of the assessee before the High Court was that the expression "commercial tax, incentives and concessions" finds its place in the Government Order dated May 14, 1999. It was the assessee's stand that the expression "tax" covers the tax leviable under the provisions of the Act and there was no justifiable reason to exclude purchase tax levied or leviable under section 6 as the same was tax under the provis....
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..... dated March 15, 1996 and May 14, 1999 lay emphasis on manufacture and sale. It is pointed out that the articles purchased by the appellant are processed and sent to places outside the State and they purportedly sell the goods in the course of inter-State trade in other States. The stress is on sale and not purchase of raw materials. The GOs. speak of exemption or deferment. It is never the intention of the State Government, it is pointed out, to grant the benefit to a dealer who after getting the benefit effected sales purportedly in course of inter-State sale in some other States. There is no logic for granting such exemption. In order to appreciate the rival submissions the notification and Government order need to be noted. The n....
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.... of availing the concession." Clause 7 reads as follows: "7. Incentives and concessions under this order shall be available only for 'manufacturing' units as defined for the purpose of Karnataka Sales Tax Act. However, specified categories of 'non-manufacturing' units, as detailed in appendix IV shall also be eligible for the incentives and concessions as per this order." There appear to be some amount of confusion as to the effect of the two clauses 5 and 7. It is to be noted that the confusion relating to entitlement of manufacturing and non-manufacturing units was sought to be clarified by the Government order. Primary objective of the subsequent Government order dated May 14, 1999 was to extend benefit under Government order d....
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....the purchase point. Under the Government order, the policy of the Government as spelt out is, that tiny and small scale industries and medium and large scale industries may exercise their option either for sales tax exemption or sales tax deferment for number of years prescribed in the Government order itself. In the context in which these expressions are used, they only mean "sales tax holiday " or exemption from payment of sales tax for number of years specified, depending on where the tiny or small scale industry is located. "Sales tax" refers to any tax which includes within its scope all "business of sale of goods" specified in the Schedule. Similarly, "sales tax deferral" only means the aforesaid industries are entitled to collect ....