AI Drafter 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1997 (7) TMI 644
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....Shiva's Wine & Provisions" at shop No. F-31 at Dakshinapan C.I.T. Market Complex at 2, Gariahat Road (South), Calcutta-700 068, and is an Indian citizen. The question raised in the application is said to be the grievance of members of applicant No. 1 who are engaged in retail trade in foreign liquors. 3.. The applicant's case is that prior to April 15, 1993 sales of foreign liquors were exempt from sales tax under section 6 of the 1941 Act, as those were included in item No. 53 of Schedule I to that Act (Schedule I is the list of tax-free goods). By an amendment of the 1941 Act in the year 1993, the said item No. 53 was omitted from Schedule I, and foreign liquors were included in item No. 46 of Schedule II of the same Act. Thus those goods were made taxable at the rate specified in section 5(1)(d), i.e., at the rate of 11 per cent together with additional sales tax at the rate of 10 per cent. By amending section 5(2)(a)(ii) it was provided that for the purpose of computation of taxable turnover a dealer of foreign liquors was entitled to deduct from his sales the sales made to a registered dealer and thus the tax was leviable at the last point of sale. On or about April 8, 1....
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.... from retail dealers of IMFL, the liability to pay turnover tax on sales made by them was continued. The applicants contend that by reason of the amendment following the budget speech of the Minister, several commodities excluding IMFL were omitted from the respective Schedules to the 1941 Act and were included in the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954 ("the 1954 Act") with effect from April 15, 1994. IMFL was allowed to continue to be governed by the 1941 Act for the purpose of taxation. Thus, retail dealers of IMFL were not allowed to avail the benefit of the 1954 Act, while dealers of other commodities such as franking machine, edible oil excluding mustard oil, etc., were relieved of the burden of payment of turnover tax. According to the applicants, retail dealers of IMFL have thus been subjected to hostile discrimination. By reason of amendment of the 1941 Act with effect from April 15, 1994, a retail dealer for the purpose of calculation of taxable turnover became entitled to deduct from his gross turnover the sales effected by him on and from April 11, 1994, but the liability to pay turnover tax was continued. This is alleged to be unfair, unreasonable and operates as a harsh r....
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....y of sales tax. The State Legislature is competent to decide how and in what manner it will raise revenue from sales tax and to determine which particular transaction should be exempted. Turnover tax has been withdrawn with effect from May 1, 1995. Prior to that date, turnover tax was levied and collected in accordance with section 6B. There has been no hostile discrimination against retail dealers of foreign liquors. Tax on turnover was levied and collected under the 1941 Act from the dealers who were liable to pay such tax. No classification was made between wholesalers and retailers. During the period from April 11, 1994 to April 30, 1995 sales of IMFL were deductible from gross turnover of a dealer under clauses (vf) and (vg) of section 5(2)(a), when the selling dealer fulfilled the conditions laid down therein. Respondents have denied that the liability of payment of tax was shifted from retail dealers. Levy and collection of turnover tax continued till April 30, 1995 under the 1941 Act and as such all dealers, whether wholesaler or retailer, had to pay turnover tax if they were liable to pay the same according to section 6B. Validity of levy of turnover tax does not depend up....
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....that the levy of turnover tax was withdrawn with effect from May 1, 1995, and it was provided by an amendment that with effect from April 11, 1994 the burden of turnover tax was allowed to be passed on to the buyers. Reference to a representation dated October 3, 1994 by applicant No. 1 to the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes has been made in the application. That representation is marked annexure "C". It will also appear from the same that the plea of the retail dealers of IMFL is that since they are no more liable to pay sales tax, they are also not liable to pay turnover tax. Their contention in the said representation is also that there is no "turnover" in view of the amended provisions of section 5(2) by which deduction has been allowed. 7.. In the context of the aforesaid nature of the present grievance, Mr. M.L. Bhattacharjee, learned advocate for the applicants, at the outset submitted that in view of paragraph 26 and ground No. VI of the present application, a Bench constituted of three honourable Members of this Tribunal including the Chairman should hear this case. In paragraph 26 and ground No. VI the plea is that the demand of turnover tax is violative of articles 1....
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....er as specified in sub-section (2)." The expression "in addition to" in section 6B(1)(a) quoted above has been underlined* by us, because Mr. M.L. Bhattacharjee, appearing for the applicants, put great emphasis on that expression to argue that where a dealer is not required to pay any sales tax, there is no question of paying turnover tax "in addition to" the same. In other words, he contended that if there is no liability under section 5, it cannot be said that a liability to pay tax under section 6B still remains. He then referred to annexure "C" the representation dated October 3, 1994, wherein it was argued that after the allowed deduction from gross turnover, no turnover was left for taxation. No other contention was made by him. 9.. It will appear from the foregoing paragraph that even the contention made in paragraph 26 and ground No. VI of the application regarding violation of articles 14 and 19(1)(g) has not been pressed at the time of arguments. 10.. In reply to the contention of Mr. Bhattacharjee, appearing for the applicants, Mr. K.K. Saha, learned advocate appearing for the respondents, submitted that the observation in Century Spinning Mfg. Co. v. State of W....
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....ction 2(i). It means aggregate of sale prices or parts of sale prices receivable or actually received. Section 4 is the charging section for sales tax. Section 5 mainly deals with rate of tax payable by a dealer. That depends upon the dealer's "taxable turnover" which is defined in section 5(2). In other words, "taxable turnover" is the amount which remains after the allowed deductions from the gross turnover. Section 6B was absent in the original 1941 Act. It is a subsequent addition. Section 6B does not lay down that the turnover tax will be levied on the "taxable turnover" defined or laid down in section 5(2). Sub-section (2) of section 6B says that turnover tax shall be levied on that part of the gross turnover of a dealer which remains after deducting therefrom the turnovers specified therein. In other words, section 6B(2) is a self-contained list of deductible turnovers for the purpose of turnover tax. May be, turnover tax is after all in the nature of additional sales tax, but it is the domain of the Legislature to levy tax under the same entry 54 in different ways and under different provisions with different nomenclatures and yardsticks. No valid grievance can be made o....