TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2016 (8) TMI 398
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..... Tribunal was justified in holding that the provisions of Rule 54 are mandatory in nature ?" 2. The dispute is regarding claim of input tax credit for the period from 1.7.2009 to 31.3.2010. 3. Learned counsel for the appellant submitted that during the aforesaid period, the appellant purchased various consignments of non-alloy ingots of different quality. The seller of the goods is a unit covered under the Central Excise Act, 1944 (for short, 'the 1944 Act'). The invoice-cumexcise gate pass admittedly depicted the description and price of the goods, excise duty and the sale tax charged. At the time of filing of return, the appellant claimed credit of the input tax paid at the time of purchase of the aforesaid material. As the refund was admissible to the appellant, the Assessing Authority issued notice for determination thereof. Though all the invoices and other documents were produced by the appellant before the Designated Authority, but still the claim of input tax credit on the material purchased from Sada Shiv Casting Pvt. Ltd. was rejected, vide order dated 6.9.2010. Aggrieved against the order so passed, the appellant preferred appeal, which was rejected by the....
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....ate submitted that Input Tax Credit is available to a dealer in terms of Section 13 of the VAT Act. Sub-section (12) thereof provides that input tax credit shall be allowed only against original VAT invoice. The onus to prove the same is on the claimant. Rule 18 of the Rules provides for conditions for claiming input tax credit. Rule 21 of the Rules provides that no input tax credit shall be admissible in respect of a purchase, in case the invoice does not contain the requisite information, as specified in Rule 54 of the Rules. Rule 54 of the Rules, inter-alia, provides that VAT invoice should have the words "Input Tax Credit is available to a person against this copy". The word "shall" in the provision, as referred to above, would clearly mean that the provisions are mandatory. In case these are not held to be mandatory for claiming the input tax credit, the Rules will be redundant. 7. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the paper book. 8. Before this court proceeds to deal with the issue raised, it would be appropriate to refer to the relevant provisions. The same are extracted below: "Section 13(1) (12) to (15) of the Act SECTION 13. INPUT TAX CREDIT: (....
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....e case of resale; or (ii) Lower than Cost price in the case of manufactured/ Processed goods; and in such cases the balance Input Tax Credit (ITC) shall be reversed by the taxable person : Provided that the provisions of this sub-rule shall not apply in cases where the sale has been made at a price lower than the companies, that is to say, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and HPCL Mittal Energy Limited. (3) No input tax credit shall be admissible to a person in respect of such purchases for which he accepts from the selling person, an invoice which - (a) has not been duly obtained from a taxable person against the bonafide transaction; (b) does not contain all the required information as specified in rule 54; and (c) has been issued by a person, whose certificate of registration has been cancelled under the provisions of the Act. (4) Where some goods as input or output are lying in the stock of a taxable person and where such goods become tax-free from a particular date, then from that date, no input tax credit shall be admissible to the taxable person on the sale of goods lying in the....
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.... shall be issued from duly bound invoice or cash memo book, except when invoices are prepared on computer or any other electronic or mechanical device. It shall be at least in triplicate, i.e. Original Copy, second copy and the last copy. The respective copies of the invoice shall bear these words clearly. (2) On the original copy of the VAT invoice, the words "Input Tax Credit is available to a person against this copy" shall be printed and it will be issued to the purchaser only. On the second copy, the words "This copy does not entitle the holder to claim Input Tax Credit" shall be printed and this copy shall be used for the purpose of transportation of goods. The last copy shall be retained by the seller. (3) The words "VAT Invoice" shall be prominently printed on the invoice. (4) A VAT invoice shall contain, the following details:- (a) A consecutive serial number printed by a mechanical or electronic process. In case of a computer generated invoice, the serial number may be generated and printed by computer, only if, the software automatically generates the number and the same number cannot be generated more than once; (b) the date of issue; (c) the name, add....
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....les provides that input tax credit shall be available in case the taxable person has original VAT invoice issued to him by the taxable person from whom the goods have been purchased. The tax charged thereon has been shown separately. He has maintained proper record of his purchases eligible for input tax credit. Rule 21 of the Rules, which prescribes certain conditions for admissibility of input tax credit, inter-alia, provides that no input tax credit shall be admissible in case the VAT invoice does not contain the required information as specified in Rule 54 of the Rules. Rule 26 of the Rules provides that in case the original VAT invoice has been lost, destroyed or mutilated, claim can be made on the basis of a duplicate copy thereof issued by the selling dealer and an indemnity bond in the form specified. The benefit is admissible to the claimant after the designated officer cross-checks the transaction and satisfies himself about the genuineness of the transaction. Rule 54 of the Rules provides the particulars to be mentioned in a VAT invoice. It provides that VAT invoice shall be issued from duly bound invoice or cash memo book, except where it is prepared on computer or any ....
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....T 267 (Guj.), the Division Bench opined as under: "12. In the present cases, the Assessing Officer was not justified in declining the benefit of input tax credit only on the ground that the tax invoices did not contain the name of the buyer and also its TIN number. No doubt, non mentioning of the name and the TIN number can be a circumstance, but it cannot be held to be conclusively against the purchaser. The judgment cited by learned counsel for the State in Babu Verghese's case (supra) was different. The question involved therein was validity of extension granted by the Bar Council of India to existing members of Kerala Bar Council (KBC) under proviso to Section 8 of the Advocates Act, 1961 and consequent validity of elections held by KBC during the extended term. 13. In such circumstances, we find that the matter requires to be remanded to the Assessing Officer who shall consider the matter afresh and shall not reject the tax invoice only on the ground that it does not contain the name of the buyer and its TIN number where the buyer is able to justify the genuineness of the transaction by producing evidence before him. Ordered accordingly. Consequently, the impugned or....
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....red by a Division Bench of this Court in M/s SPL Industries Ltd.'s case (supra). It was a case where rebate of duty on export of goods was under consideration. The petitioner therein was not able to produce the prescribed form. It was opined that the form prescribed in the Rules was a prima facie proof of export of goods. If any material was available with the adjudicating authority, he could still opine that the goods were not exported. Even in the absence of the prescribed form, if there is sufficient material with the adjudicating authority, he can still come to the conclusion that the goods were, in fact, exported, which entitled the benefit to the party. Relevant paragraph thereof is extracted below: "We have heard learned counsel for the parties at length and find that the claim of the petitioner for rebate is required to be examined in the light of documents produced by the petitioner in support of the assertion that the goods were in fact exported. The production of original and the duplicate copy of ARE-1 Form duly endorsed by the Officer of the Customs is prima-facie proof of the fact that the goods have been exported. Even if the documents are produced, the adjudi....