TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (2) TMI 1013
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.... passed by the learned Single Judge allowing the writ applications and holding that the notification issued by the State Government in exercise of its powers under Section 15-B of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (for short 'the VAT Act') where tax on minor forest produce has been reduced to 5% will also be applicable to Tendu leaves by treating the Tendu leaves also as a minor forest produce despite the Tendu leaves having been separately shown as a taxable item in Part III of Schedule II. 2. The private Respondents, who were the Petitioners before the writ court, had entered into purchase agreements with the Chhattisgarh State Minor Forest Produce (Trading and Development) Cooperative Federation Limited (for short 'the Federation') authorising the Respondents to purchase Tendu leaves from them. As per the purchase agreement, the purchasers had to pay VAT under the VAT Act at the rate prescribed by the State Government from time to time. 3. The VAT Act lays down obligations on every dealer who is liable to pay tax under the said Act in respect of sales or supplies of goods effected by him in the State of Chhattisgarh. Section 4 of the VAT Act creates ob....
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....hin the State on the date of such purchase. (2) No tax under this section shall be levied in respect of any year on - (a) a dealer whose turnover in a year does not exceed the limit prescribed under sub-section (1) of section 4; (b) any other dealer who has no turnover, if his aggregate of purchase prices of all the goods does not exceed such amount as may be prescribed. (3) Every dealer who has no turnover and is liable to pay tax under sub-section (1) shall, for the purpose of Sections 19,21,22,25,26 and 41 be deemed to be a registered dealer." 6. The other Sections which also have some bearing are Sections 15, 15-A and 15-B. They are reproduced for ready reference as under: "15. Tax free goods. - (1) No tax shall be payable on the sale or purchase of goods specified in Schedule-I, subject to the conditions and exceptions, if any, set out in the corresponding entry in the third column thereof. (2) The State Government may in respect of any goods, by notification amend Schedule-I so as to include therein any goods not already specified or may relax or omit any of the conditions and exceptions set out in the corresponding entry in the third column thereof. 15-A. Powe....
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.... this Act and for that purpose it shall and shall always be deemed that the provision of Section 17 of the repealed Act have been revived for the purpose of such exemption." 7. From the scheme of VAT Act, the goods shown in Schedule I are treated as tax free goods which has been envisaged under Section 15 of the VAT Act. Schedule II contains the lists of goods on which rate of tax is decided and notified in terms of Section 8. There are three parts to Schedule II. Part I contains a list of goods or items which carry least incidence of tax. Part II contains the list of goods which broadly has incidence of 5% tax and Part III contains certain goods or items which have the highest incidence of tax i.e. at the rate of 25%. The items include the products like diesel, petrol, aviation turbine fuel, natural gas, kerosene sold through PDS and Tendu leaves. By the very look of the goods which have been placed in Part III of Schedule II, these are items which are supposed to earn maximum revenue for the State of Chhattisgarh. 8. In terms of Section 15-A of the VAT Act, the power has been vested in the State Government to amend Schedule II for which appropriate notifications are required to....
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....term has been used by the Legislature, then it has to be construed as if the Legislature meant all those items which fall under the said generic term, therefore, Tendu leaves being minor forest produce should also be read into that exemption notification and therefore, allowed the writ applications with a direction that the Tendu leaves will carry only 5% tax. This batch of writ appeals has arisen against the impugned decision of the learned Single Judge dated 12.03.2018, both on behalf of the State as well as the Federation. 14. The stand of the Appellants is that the learned Single Judge has committed error of law, if not of fact by dragging the Tendu leaves in the category of minor forest produce and allow the benefit of concessional rate of tax of 5% even though Tendu leaves stands as a taxable item in Schedule II Part III at serial No. 5 untouched and carrying a rate of tax of 25%. 15. The learned Government Advocate representing the State and the learned counsel for the Federation submits that the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Mauri Yeast India Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Another, reported in (2008) 5 SCC 680, is a complete answer a....
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....erpretation in CIT v. Shahzada Nand & Sons, (1966) 3 SCR 379 "8. ...The classic statement of Rowlatt, J., in Cape Brandy Syndicate v. IRC, (1921) 1 KB 64, 71 still holds the field. It reads: ".....in a taxing Act one has to look merely at what is clearly said. There is no room for any intendment. There is no equity about a tax. There is no presumption as to a tax. Nothing is to be read in, nothing is to be implied. One can only look fairly at the language used." To this may be added a rider: in a case of reasonable doubt, the construction most beneficial to the subject is to be adopted. But even so, the fundamental rule of construction is the same for all statutes, whether fiscal or otherwise. "The underlying principle is that the meaning and intention of a statute must be collected from the plain and unambiguous expression used therein rather than from any notions which may be entertained by the court as to what is just or expedient." The expressed intention must guide the court. Another rule of construction which is relevant to the present enquiry is expressed in the maxim, generalia specialibus non derogant , which means that when there is a conflict between a general ....
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....8) 9 SCC 1. The Hon'ble Apex Court while dealing with the issue of exemption notification, having taken note of various decisions dealt with on such issue, the Constitution Bench sums up the principle in the following words: "66. To sum up, we answer the reference holding as under: 66.1 Exemption notification should be interpreted strictly; the burden of proving applicability would be on the assessee to show that his case comes within the parameters of the exemption clause or exemption notification. 66.2 When there is ambiguity in exemption notification which is subject to strict interpretation, the benefit of such ambiguity cannot be claimed by the subject/assessee and it must be interpreted in favour of the Revenue. 66.3 The ratio in Sun Export case Corporation v. Collector of Customs, (1997) 6 SCC 564, stands overruled. " 20. The arguments based on the principles laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court which have been relied upon by the Appellants that there was no occasion for the learned Single Judge to drag the Tendu leaves which has been shown as a separate goods for taxation at the rate of 25% into fold of exemption which has been extended to minor forest produ....