2023 (4) TMI 1010

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....r the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in automobile business. 5. The challenge in the petition is to the notice of demand dated 22.2.2022, issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax, in purported exercise of power under Section 32A of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 ("VAT Act"), whereby the petitioner is directed to pay amount of Rs. 79,29,548/- (Rupees Seventy Nine Lakh Twenty Nine Thousand Five Hundred Forty Eight) into the government treasury at Chandrapur. 6. Inasmuch as, the notice of demand invokes the provisions of Section 32A of the VAT Act, it would be apposite to extract the said provision, which reads thus: 32A. Payment of tax or interest in certain cases (1) After submission of the report of the audit as req....

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....m the recommendation of the Accountant. 8. We have briefly delved into the statutory provision in view of the preliminary objection raised by the department that there is a statutory remedy, and in writ jurisdiction, we must be slow to interfere. The learned senior counsel Mr. R.L. Khapre would submit, that there is no statutory appeal against an order rendered in exercise of power under Section 32A of the VAT Act. Even de hors the said aspect, if the notice of demand is found jurisdictionally vulnerable, we are not expected to relegate the assessee to the statutory remedy, assuming arguendo that there is a statutory remedy, as an empty or ritualistic formality. 9. In the factual matrix, we are more than satisfied that the notice of deman....

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....WAS UNABLE TO PRODUCE INVOICE FOR THE SAME IF THE INVOICE IS PRODUCED THAN THE VALUE LIABLE FOR TAX WILL BE REDUCED". 12. The finding recorded in the order impugned that the assessee has accepted the liability clearly militates against plain and unambiguous disagreement recorded in the audit report. We have not come across any other material warranting any other view. 13. While the learned Addl. GP Mrs. K.S. Joshi would invite our attention to sub-section(2) of Section 32A of the VAT Act, we find that the said provision only provides that as regards the liability which is deemed to have been admitted in view of the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section 32A, the interest regime of Section 30 shall come into play mutatis mutandis. We do....