TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (3) TMI 1218
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.... 3. It is contended that the petitioner in the course of its business enters into lease agreements for providing passenger vehicles. The pattern of business of the petitioner is such that it buys vehicles from the dealers and pays tax on such purchases and thereafter leases the same to the end user/its customers. The value added tax paid by the petitioner on purchase of the vehicles from such dealers is taken as an input tax credit which is said to have been adjusted against the petitioner's output tax liability. Apart from this, petitioner is engaged into equipment lease activity during the relevant assessment period i.e., 2012-13. 4. It transpires that the respondent-Authority visited the petitioner's place of business for inspection and sought certain details/clarification such as purchase invoices, retail invoices etc. It is contended that, in response to the details sought by the respondent-Authority, the petitioner submitted the required material documents, audited financial statements, lease rental register, purchase register etc. During the assessment proceedings, certain material documents are said to have been submitted along with the reply. The Prescribed Authority ....
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.... same for the second time while rejecting the rectification application. Thus, it is submitted that alternative remedy is not a bar for this Court to exercise discretionary and extraordinary jurisdiction under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, when there is an error apparent on the face of the record. Non assigning of the reasons by the quasi judicial authority is nothing but violation of principles of natural justice. The respondents-authorities have considered the same issue for nearly three assessment years and have dropped the proceedings, input tax credit was allowed appreciating the transaction of the petitioner as a lessor/owner of the vehicle purchased. It is submitted that pursuance to the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, petitioner was made to adopt the lessor- lessee design in the invoice. Placing reliance on the Judgment of the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of 'INDUSTRIAL CREDIT AND DEVELOPMENT SYNDICATE LIMITED v. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, MYSORE AND ANOTHER' reported in [2013] 3 SCC 541, it was argued that the petitioner has to be construed as owner of the vehicles purchased. It is only for the purpose of complying with the provisions of....
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....les of natural justice is well settled, the scope and extent of application of principles cannot be extended elastically to bring forth each and every grievance of the assessee as hit by the principles of natural justice. Petitioner without exhausting the alternative and efficacious remedy available under the Act, cannot rush to this Court. Learned AGA has filed statement of objections in support of his contention and would point out that registration certificate of the vehicle stands in different names other than the petitioner. Department is oblivious of any other transaction of the petitioner. It is submitted that the assessee has devised a design to claim the input tax credit to which it is not entitled to, as the name of the petitioner is not figuring in the tax invoice referred to by the petitioner. The Assessing Authority was justified in denying the input tax credit and demanding tax, interest and penalty. 8. I have given my anxious consideration to the arguments advanced by the learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the material on record. It is the case of the department that an investigation was conducted and as per the report submitted by the Investiga....
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....itioner has purchased the vehicles and has leased out to the lessee company, the registration certificate is issued in the names of employees of the lessee company. However, learned AGA has furnished the sample of invoices and the respective registration certificates standing in the name of third parties. In the circumstances, it is for the Departmental authorities to examine whether the contentions of the assessee is acceptable or not. No such exercise has been done by the Prescribed Authority to examine whether the registration certificate is standing in the name of the employee of the lessee company and whether the same can be accepted for the purposes of refunding/adjusting input tax credit under the Act. It is also not in dispute that the lessee has been regularly paying taxes on the leased rentals in terms of the leased agreement executed. Though this is a subsequent transaction both requires to be examined by the Prescribed Authority to ascertain the genuineness of the claim made by the petitioner. Merely for the reason that the petitioner's name is shown as lessor in the tax invoice, it cannot be out rightly rejected to deny the input tax credit and create huge demands. No ....