TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2017 (9) TMI 1421
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....d, to which the return relates; (ii) that the assessee themselves agreed to pay 10% of differential tax for non-production of Form-C; (iii) that no sufficient cause was shown for non-production of Form-C declaration; and (iv) and for other reasons. 2. Short facts leading to the Tax Case Revision are that the appellant-assessee is a registered dealer, engaged in the manufacture of Caustic Sode Lye, Caustic Soda Flakes, Chlorine, Hydrogen, Hydro Chloric Acid and Sodium Hypochloride and registered under the repealed Pondicherry General Sales Tax Act, 1967, Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and in Puducherry Value Added Tax Act, 2007 and also an assessee in the books of the Commercial Tax Officer, Karaikal. 3. While completing the assessment of the petitioner/appellant, for the year 2006-2007, on 13.5.2014, the Assessing Officer found that the petitioner/appellant reported in Form-I return, a total and taxable turn over of Rs. 122,86,45,889/- and Rs. 3,16,59,835/- respectively, claiming exemption, on a turnover of Rs. 119,69,86,054/- towards tax holiday period, for the said assessment year 2006-2007, under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The petitioner/appellant received the ....
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....ons, under the Central Sales Tax (Pondicherry) Rules, 1967; Central Sales Tax Act, 1956; and Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, vide order, dated 16.09.2014, in Appeal No.7/CST/2014-15/AAC, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner (CT), Commercial Taxes Department, Puducherry, at Paragraphs 11 to 15, dismissed the appeal, as follows: "As provided under Rule 12(7) of CST (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, the form "C" shall be furnished to the prescribed authority within three months after the end of the period to which the declaration or the Certificate relates. It is also provided thereunder that if the prescribed authority is satisfied that the person concerned was prevented by sufficient cause from furnishing such declaration within the aforesaid time, that authority may allow such declaration to be furnished within such further time as that authority may permit. The Hon'ble Madras High Court in the case of 'Arulmurugan and Company' (1982) 51 STC 381 (Mad.), has held as follows: "Besides, such power as the appellate authority is empowered to exercise in relation to an assessment under appeal, has got to be exercised only in the same ma....
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....on relates nor before the completion of the assessment and as per the provisions of the CST (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957." 7. Being aggrieved by the said order, the appellant has filed Tax Appeal No.04 of 2014, before the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Puducherry, contending inter alia that the Company had approached their purchaser, on various occasions for C-Form declarations, but their supplier failed to produce the same to them. Therefore, the Company sent a legal notice to them, for C-Form declarations, against the taxable turnover to the extent of Rs. 1,31,40,000/- (Differential tax: Rs. 7,88,400/-). In the meanwhile, the assessment was completed, vide Assessment Order, dated 13.05.2014 in Assessment No.1982/2006-07 and the tax due, was arrived to an extent of Rs. 20,83,191/- and out of which, the appellant had already paid Rs. 12,94,791/- and the balance of Rs. 7,88,4001- pertains to tax on non-production of C-Forms. 8. Before the Tribunal, the appellant has submitted that after receiving the assessment order, dated 13.05.2014, on 14.05.2016, the company had received two C-Forms, viz., (i) C-Form, bearing No.0239154, dated 30.05.2014 for a taxable turnover of....
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....alue of Rs. 122,86,45,889/-, claiming exemption, on a turnover of Rs. 119,69,86,054/- and as per the accounts submitted by the appellant and after scrutiny of the same, the department has made the appellant liable for value of Rs. 1,31,40,000/- for the inter-state sale made by them, for which, Form-C Declarations were not submitted within time. 12. Before the Tribunal, the department has further submitted that as per Rule 12(7) of the CST (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, the time prescribed for submitting Form-C for claiming exemption/concession, is three months, after the end of the tax period, to which the return relates, but even after lapse of seven years, the appellant has not submitted the balance C-Forms and hence, in the absence of Form-C and Form-I, higher rate of tax @ 10% has been levied and further contention has been made that though the appellant was given sufficient time, for production of C-Form declarations, they failed to produce the same, for availing the concessional rates of tax. After considering the rival submissions, at Paragraphs 9 and 10, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Puducherry, in Tax Appeal No.4 of 2014, dated 24.03.2015, ordered as hereu....
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....long time and so purchaser could not get C-Forms from the officer incharge which was also apprised during the 1st hearing are all invented only for the purpose of this appeal before this court as the said reasons have not been asserted in the memorandum of appeal preferred by the appellant before the 1st appellate authority. The further contention of the appellant that though the order received on 14.5.2014, but the appellant received the C-Forms for a taxable turn over of Rs. 74,70,000/- on 30.5.2014 for the assessment period from 7.10.2006 to 30.12.2006 and the C-Forms for a taxable turn over of Rs. 32,22,000/- on 30.5.2014 for the assessment period from 31.8.2006 to 26.9.2006 and in this regard the appellant submitted to the Commercial Tax Officer and sought to issue revised order and since the appellant not received the revised order, the appellant preferred appeal on 13.6.2014 are all the reasons to substantiate the claim of the appellant. Had the appellant taken timely steps for getting C-Forms before the assessment date, the assessment officer would have considered the request of the appellant, whereas only after passing the assessment order, the appellant took effective ste....
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....l, the same has to be accepted and accordingly, assessment has to be made. He further submitted that all the authorities have failed to consider that sufficient cause was shown for non-compliance. 15. Mr.J.Kumaran, learned Government Advocate (Pondy), submitted that Form-C Declaration has been furnished, after passing of the assessment order and that there was a delay, not reasonably explained. He prayed to sustain the order of the Appellate Tribunal. Heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the materials available on record. 16.Before adverting to the rival contentions, this Court deems it fit to have a cursory look at some of the provisions of the Central Sales Tax (Pondicherry) Rules, 1967; Central Sales Tax Act, 1956; and Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, Central Sales Tax (Pondicherry) Rules, 1967: "5(1). Every dealer other than those specified in the proviso to Rule 11 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, registered under section 7 of the Act, shall submit a return of his transactions in the course of interstate trade or commerce or in the course of export of the goods out of the Territory of In....
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....entral Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, C-Form Declarations ought to have been submitted within June' 2007. As per the proviso to Rule 12(7) of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, if the prescribed authority is satisfied that the person concerned was prevented by sufficient cause from furnishing such declaration or certificate with in the aforesaid time, that authority may allow such declaration or certificate to be furnished within such further time as that authority may permit. 18. At this juncture, it has to be seen, as to whether, the appellant had acted diligently to obtain the Form-C Declarations, from their purchasers, for production before the authorities. Contents of the legal notice issued by the assessee to the purchaser, are as follows: "My client states that in the course of manufacture of their final products waste and scrap is generated. During the period August 2006 to March 2007, scrap was sold to you for a total consideration of Rs. 1,36,65,600/-, the details of which are set out in the tabulated sheet annexed to this notice. You had requested them to make supplies at the concessional rate of sales tax based o....
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....Cement Ltd., and another reported in 142 STC 1 (SC), the Hon'ble Supreme Court while dealing with belated filing of statutory forms, held as follows: "It was urged on behalf of the appellant-State that declaration forms under the Central Act were not filed within the time and/or were defective. That does not in reality amount to non-compliance of a statutory provision. The respondent No.1-company was claiming exemption and, therefore, had not filed the declaration forms. Some of the forms which were filed were treated to be defective. Undisputedly, before the revisional authority a prayer was made for grant of opportunity to rectify the defects, if any. That was turned down. It is to be noted that under Rule 12(7) of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 (in short the `Registration Rules') the declaration form can be filed at a subsequent point of time and not necessarily along with returns. On an application being made before the Assessing Officer the exemption can be granted. The object of the Rule is to ensure that the assessee is not denied a benefit which is available to it under law on a technical plea. The Assessing Officer is empowered to ....
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....hs 12 and 13, held as follows: "12. The ratio in the above-said decision will enure to the benefit of the assessee. It is to be noted that the approach of the Department should be to ensure that what the assessee is rightfully entitled to should be extended to the assessee without harping on technicalities. Accordingly, we are inclined to set aside the orders of the Tribunal and remand the matters back to the Assessing Authority for passing fresh orders. 13. In the result, the impugned orders of the Tribunal stand set aside and the above Tax Case (Revisions) stand allowed. The Assessing Officer is directed to proceed with the assessment after receiving the necessary statutory declarations and complete the assessment on merits. No costs. The petitioners are directed to submit the necessary statutory declaration forms before the Assessing Officer along with a copy of this order." 22. In M/s.K.S.B.Pumps Ltd., v. State of Tamil Nadu [Tax Case (Revision) No.87 of 2015, dated 30.09.2015], C-Form declaration to an extent of Rs. 19,98,976/-, was not submitted, for the assessment year 2000-01, within five years from the date of the original assessment order, before the Assessing Of....