TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (1) TMI 1706
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....ained in sub-section (6) of section 20 of the Madhya Pradesh Value Added tax Act, 2002 for non-registration under section 10 of Madhya Pradesh Vilasita, Manoranjan, Amod Evam Vigyapan Kar Adhiniyam, 2011 (referred as "the Act 2011"). 3. The relevant facts giving rise to the issue briefly are that the appellant, a limited company, is engaged in the business of entertainment through cable DTH and advertising at by receiving and then providing television signals to cable operators of various localities who in turn further transmit the same to their subscribers. 4. State Legislature enacted Madhya Pradesh Vilasita, Manoranjan, Amod Evam Vigyapan Kar Adhiniyam, 2011 with effect from April 1, 2011, to levy tax on luxuries, entertainments, amuse....
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....tration certificate shall within sixty days from the date of commencement of this Act or if he was not carrying on business on that date shall within thirty days of his becoming liable to pay tax, apply for grant of a registration certificate. 8. Sub-section (3) of section 10 provides for the consequence of non- registration. It stipulates : "(3) Where a hotelier or proprietor required to obtain a registration certificate under sub-section (1) fails to apply for the same within the time specified in sub-section (2), the appropriate Commercial Tax Officer or any other officer authorized by the Commissioner in this behalf may, after giving him a reasonable opportunity of being heard, direct him to pay by way of penalty a sum not exceeding ....
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....ax or impost whether general or local or special and "tax" shall be construed accordingly. 14. In Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. v. State of U. P. [2005] 139 STC 537 (SC); [2005] 4 RC 186 ; [2005] 2 SCC 515, a tax on "luxuries" in entry 62 of List II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India was construed to mean a tax on "the activity of enjoyment or indulgence in that which is costly or which is generally recognized as being beyond the necessary requirements of an average member of society". It is held (para 96, page 576 in 139 STC) : "93. . . . In our judgment, the word 'luxuries' in the entry refers to activities of indulgence, enjoyment or pleasure . . ." 15. As regard to interpretation of taxing statute, trite it i....
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....Ltd. [2007] 1 SCC 62, it is held: "19. . . . Before a penalty can be levied, the procedures laid down therein must be complied with. For construction of a penal provision, it is trite, the golden rule of literal interpretation should be applied. The difficulty which may be faced by the Revenue is of no consequence. . ." 18. Returning to the issue in the case at hand, the penalty imposed is for violation of sub-section (2) of section 10 of the 2011 Act, which mandates compulsory registration under 2011 Act. The penalty for non-registration is engrafted under sub-section (3) of section 10. The provision no where empowers the authority to treat the non-registration under section 10 of the 2011 Act as a violation of provisions of VAT Act, 20....
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....) ; [2004] 3 SCC 1 and S. N. Chandrashekar v. State of Karnataka [2006] 3 SCC 208 . . ." (Please see Southern Petrochemical Industries Co. Ltd. v. Electricity Inspector and E. T. I. O., AIR 2007 SC 1984) 20. In K. R. C. S. Balakrishna Chetty & Sons & Co. v. State of Madras [1961] 12 STC 114 (SC) ; AIR 1961 SC 1152, it is observed by their Lordships (pages 118 and 119 in 12 STC) : "6. . . . The use of the words 'subject to' has reference to effectuating the intention of the law and the correct meaning, in our opinion, is 'conditional upon'." 21. In Union of India v. Brigadier P. S. Gill and Krite Kumar Awasthi v. Union of India [2012] 4 SCC 463, the Supreme Court dwelling upon the issue which cropped up in the context o....