TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2011 (11) TMI 599
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....09, whereby the learned assessing authority, namely, Commercial Taxes Officer (Works Contract & Leasing Tax), Ajmer, passed the order against the petitioner-company, which was awarded the works contract of gauge conversion of railway tracks in Ajmer to Rewari segment. 2. The petitioner-company applied for exemption certificate from sales tax on payment of fixed exemption fees of the total value of the contract under the Notification No. F.12(63)FD/Tax/2005-80 dated August 11, 2006 issued under section 8(3) of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003. The relevant list of the types of contracts and percentage of exemption fees as given in the said notification is reproduced hereinbelow for ready reference: "Item No. Description of wor....
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....at Lucknow (U. P.). However, the said assessing authority rejected the adjournment request and passed the impugned assessment order on February 6, 2009 and held that conversion of railway gauge was not the construction of roads; and therefore, exemption fees of 1.50 per cent paid was not correct and the assessee was liable to pay the exemption fees at three per cent of the total contract value under the aforesaid notification dated August 11, 2006. A demand of ₹ 1.18 crore at three per cent was raised against the petitioner-assessee company, out of which half was already paid at 1.50 per cent. 5. The learned counsel for the petitioner, Mr. Sanjeev Johari, urged that there was breach of principles of natural justice in the present cas....
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....). 6. On the other hand, Mr. R.L. Jangid, Additional Advocate-General and senior advocate assisted by Mr. Vimal Mathur, submitted that the present writ petition is not maintainable since effective alternative remedy is available to the petitioner-company against the impugned assessment order. Countering the submissions of breach of principles of natural justice, he submitted that the assessing authority has given adequate reasons for rejection of such adjournment request in the impugned order itself, namely, that works contract itself was near completion at that time and if such complete exemption fees was not recovered from the petitionercontractor company, it might cause serious prejudice to the interest of the Revenue. He also submitted....
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....urt clearly expressed its anguish that interse fight of the Government departments straightaway taken to the courts of law, deserves to be strongly deprecated and put down and such disputes should be first taken to and resolved before such High Powered Committee on Disputes ("COD", for short). The relevant extract of said judgment is reproduced hereunder (pages 418 and 419 in 116 STC): "3. We direct that the Government of India shall set up a Committee consisting representatives from the Ministry of Industry, the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Ministry of Law, to monitor disputes between Ministry and Ministry of Government of India, Ministry and public sector undertakings of the Government of India and public sector un....
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....ly, in the opinion of this court, there was no breach of principles of natural justice at all. The show-cause notice giving such opportunity to the assessee-company was duly served upon it. Secondly, even it is taken to be so for argument sake, nothing prevented the petitioner-company from making its submission on the merits on February 6, 2009 and after order was passed by the assessing authority from taking the recourse to the statutory alternative remedy available to it under the provisions of Act. Section 82 of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003, provides that an appeal against all assessment orders raising a demand of tax, interest or penalty against the assessee lies before the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals). 9. This court finds ....
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....tion need not be invoked at the instance of a public limited company of the stature of which present petitioner-company is, which was awarded the contract of gauge conversion of railway tracks on Ajmer to Rewari segment to the tune of ₹ 113 crores. The said company being well advised about the law and legal position, could not and should not have sought adjournment in the first instance on such flimsy grounds; and even if it did, it was further ill-advised to straightway knock the doors of this court under article 226 of the Constitution of India. 11. The cut-short of statutory procedures of appellate and revisional forums before the authorities created under the Act and burdening the dockets of this court could hardly said to be a w....