2020 (1) TMI 94

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.... Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 1979 ['Act' for short]. 2. The petitioner is a public limited company within the meaning of Companies Act, 2013. The assessment order has been issued under the provisions of Section 5-D of the Act, subjecting the unmanufactured tobacco products to tax as a commodity falling under Sl.No.11 of the Notification dated 30.03.2002 issued by the Government of Karnataka in exercise of the powers conferred by Sub-Section (1) of Section 3 of the Act. Being aggrieved by the said assessment order, the petitioner is before this Court.   3. Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that the Assessing Authority while passing the assessment order impugned, verbatim repeated the paragraph (4) of....

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....r, it is submitted that the circular instructions of the Commissioner challenged herein is no way relevant to the facts of the present case. Hence, seeks for dismissal of the writ petition. Learned Additional Government Advocate has referred to the judgment of this Court in W.P.Nos.55380-381/2013 [D.D. 22.10.2019].   6. I have carefully considered the rival submissions of the learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the material on record.   7. It is not in dispute that the Circular of the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes dated 10.02.2006 impugned herein deals with the interpretation of 'Barley Malt/Malted Barley, Hops pellets and Maize flakes' brought into the local area for manufacture of beer. 8. In the sa....

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....e tax liability under Sl.No.11 of the Notification dated 30.03.2002. Hence, the challenge made to the Circular of the Commissioner dated 10.02.2016 is irrelevant for adjudication of the dispute involved in the present writ petition. 10. The controversy involved in the present writ petition revolves around the classification of the unmanufactured tobacco vis-à-vis levy of tax under the provisions of the Act on entry of such unmanufactured tobacco into the local area. 11. Under the scheme of the Act, Section 3 [1] is the Charging Section which reads as thus: "3. Levy of Tax. - [1] There shall be levied and collected a tax on entry of any goods specified in the First Schedule into a local area for consumption, use or sale....

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....local area is not subjected to any physical, chemical or other process is not accepted by the Assessing Authority. It is the stand of the Department that the unmanufactured tobacco leaves are processed such as curing, moisturing, stripping, sorting, conditioning, aging and blending and after all these processes the tobacco leaves are brought into the local area, which is the essential raw material for manufacturing of tobacco product.   14. The "Agricultural produces" is defined under Section 2[A][1] of the Act and the same is quoted herein:   "Agricultural Produce or horticultural produce" shall not include tea, beedi leaves, coffee, rubber, cashew, cardamom, pepper and cotton; and such produce as has been subjected t....