TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 764
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....he goods have been brought into the State of Uttarakhand by Train No.331 Delhi-Haridwar passenger train. The goods related to the assessment year 2008-2009. The assessee has brought 20,948 consignments weighing about 10,34,580 kilograms of different goods from Delhi to Roorkee. The goods were got released by the assessee or his representatives at Roorkee Railway Station. Since the revisionist was not registered in the State, he was required to give import declaration forms XVI/XVII, he was issued a show-cause notice to show cause for making the assessment for the sale of imported goods inside the State. The Assessing Authority vide assessment order dated 01.09.2009 under section 26 of the Act, fixed the taxable turnover ex-parte on the basis of best judgment at Rs. 20,94,80,000/-, and thus created the tax liability for Rs.1,90,62,680/-. The revisionist/assessee made an application under section 31, and thereafter the case was reopened and after rehearing the case, the Assessing Authority vide assessment order dated 07.09.2011, assessed the same taxable turnover as well as tax. The assessee/revisionist went in the appeal before the learned J.C. (A) and who vide judgment and order da....
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....ikesh. The check posts were not functional, but the number of mobile squad units have been deployed to check the evasion. 5. The Tribunal after observing that the Railways changed its strategy and the space available for the transport of goods/parcels in passenger /express trains were leased out to private players in this field. The lease agreements on daily lease rent basis for the space available in SLR coach/guard cabin in all the long route important passenger/express trains were made. With respect to the present revisionist, the Tribunal observed that it was an unregistered with the Department, he had gone into an agreement with the Railways for transporting the goods into the space available in SLR coach in Train No.331 Delhi-Haridwar passenger train. However, he never kept any record whatsoever from which the names and addresses of consignorss and consignees may be verified/identified and that is why the assessment proceedings against the revisionist/assessee were initiated by the Department assuming that all the goods were brought into the State by the revisionist/assessee himself just to evade the tax on the goods. 6. Vide notification no. 829/2012/181(120)/XXVII (8)/200....
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....ention the registration number/TAN. In the State of Uttarakhand, the check posts have already been established at Kashipur, Rudrapur, Haldwani, Dehradun, Haridwar and Rishikesh, and if they are non functional, then mobile squad have been deployed. 9. Since the revisionist/assessee was registered with the Railways and had a SLR, he is bound by the letter dated 25.05.2006, issued by the Ministry of Railways and Notification dated 13.09.2012. He had registered with the Railways and in this backdrop he was transporting goods from Delhi to Uttarakhand, the only evidence, which he was supposed to carry was names and complete address of the consignee and the person taking the delivery. When notice was issued by the Assessing Authority even at that time he could have produced that record and he have never maintain any record. Hence, the procedure sat down by the Ministry of Railways and the letter dated 25.05.2006 and the Notification dated 13.09.2012, has been violated by the assessee/revisionist, and in this backdrop, the Assessing Authority had no other option but to initiate the proceedings, and after going through the evidence given by the assessee, the imposition of the tax has been....
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....90, or in a post office as defined in the Indian Post Office Act, 1898." 14. For all intentions and purposes on the date when show-cause notice was issued by the Assessing Authority for the incident relating to the assessment year 2008-2009, the above said notification were not in operation. Hence, the revisionist is only bound by the provisions of Section 49 (3) of the Act, which was applicable on that date. 15. The law which was applicable with respect to the definition of the word dealer and whether the non production of the documents relating to the title of the goods i.e. duly signed two copies of "Lorry Challan/E-generated Lorry Challan", document of title to goods/GR/bilty, invoice/challan etc., could be made basis to assess tax liability has already been considered by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in various judgments. 16. The reference can be first made to the judgment reported in 1993 INSC 292, "State of Haryana and others Vs. Sant Lal and others", where the Hon'ble Supreme Court whereby at the time of the dismissing the appeal filed by the State of Haryana against the judgment of Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, whereby the provisions of Section 38 of ....
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....ilway out-agency, city booking office or city booking agency, when run by a private person under a contract with the Railways but excluding a rail head or a post office, or of a goods carrier carrying such goods, or a person who accepts consignments of such goods for despatch to other places or gives delivery of any consignment of such goods to the consignee." 17. The Hon'ble Supreme Court affirm the findings given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court that the forwarding agent or the Dalal or the person transporting the goods is indeed reasonably and promplty connected with the transport of the goods and has no role to play in sale of the goods. Hence, he is not liable for tax liability. For clearing and forwarding agents, Dalal and other persons transporting the goods do not handle no application at all, the State has no power of legislation under the legislature of entry concerned to assess them for tax liability, if they do not carry the documents of the owner and the consignee. The clearing agent is not to handle the booking or the seat of the goods, which may have been sold. In paragraph 20 of the judgment, the Hon'ble Apex Court has observed as under:- "20. There can be no....
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....n event of the breach of the same a rebuttable and irrebuttable presumption may arise as to occurrence of a taxing event taking place at the hands of the transporter. In paragraph 15, the Hon'ble Allahabad High Court observed as under:- "15. As to the facts of the case, in absence of any material or evidence being brought on record to establish that though the assessee was a transporter but had engaged in trading in goods, again it could never be said that the assessee was liable to pay tax. It was for the revenue to have brought evidence to establish that the assessee had engaged in trading activity. That evidence being lacking the best judgement assesment and quantification of turnover are found to be with no legs. The question of law is answered in favour of assessee-revisionist and against the revenue-respondent." 20. From the judgment of the Allahabad High Court an another thing which is clear is that the production of the title documents are required to be produced by the dealer/transporter when the goods are inspected during travel, but not if it is reached there destination. 21. There is another case of the Allahabad High Court reported in 2007 SCC Online All 2376, "Sat....