1991 (10) TMI 276

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....79-80. The assessing authority was of the opinion that the registration certificate issued to the assessees did not enable them to issue "C" form certificates to purchase from outside the State at concessional rate of tax "oil engine spares" and, therefore the issue of "C" form certificate by the assessees was based on a false representation that they were entitled to purchase oil engine spares also on the basis of the registration certificate issued to them. The assessing authority invoked the provisions of section 10A of the Central Sales Tax Act, and after following the procedure prescribed by law, levied penalty, holding that the assessees had committed an offence under section 10(b) of the Act. The assessees went up in appeal before....

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....t from the record which has been produced before us by the Revenue. In the face of these patent facts, learned counsel for the assesseesrespondents was unable to show that the "oil engine spares" are also used in rice mills which are run on oil engines and the assessees were under a bona fide impression that they could purchase oil engine spares also from outside the State by issue of "C" forms on the basis of their registration certificate. A similar plea has been raised on behalf of the assessees before the assessing authority as well as before the appellate authority and had failed. The Tribunal, had however, accepted this plea, but in our opinion, it had fallen in error in doing so. The Tribunal failed to take notice of the fact that th....

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....g of a false representation, is the sine qua non for invoking the provisions of section 10(b) of the Act. Since, all the authorities including the Tribunal did record a finding that the assessees-respondents had made a false representation, that would clearly attract the provisions of section 10(b) of the Act, and the existence of mens rea would be inherent in that finding. 4.. In Vijaya Electricals v. State of Tamil Nadu [1991] 82 STC 268 this Court had an occasion to consider in depth the ambit and scope of section 10(b) of the Act read with section 10A of the Act. The Bench held that section 10(b) of the Act postulates that if any registered dealer falsely represents when purchasing any class of goods that such goods are covered by th....