TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (3) TMI 840
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....rnment Pleader (Taxes) (in all WPs) COMMON ORDER DR. ANITA SUMANTH., J. The present writ petitions have been filed challenging assessments made under the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2007 (in short, 'TNVAT Act') for the period 2006 - 07 to 2010 - 2011. 2. The petitioner is a Company registered under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 and a dealer under the TNVAT Act. It is engaged in the business of marketing and selling of student notebooks and stationery products. 3. Returns were filed by the petitioner under the applicable provisions of the Act seeking, inter alia an exemption in regard to the turnover from sales of student notebooks. Orders were initially passed under Section 22(2) of the Act acc....
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.... assail the assessments on the ground that the assessing authority has erred in not applying the exemption that has been extended under G.O. 79 dated 29.03.2007. He draws attention to the Government Order, particularly Serial No.15 thereof, which is couched in wide terms to state that 'Graph and Exercise note books' bearing commodity code no.513, would be exempt from payment of tax by virtue of Section 30(1) of the Act. 8. The petitioner argues that this exemption was specifically brought to the note of the assessing authority, who has also referred to the same in the pre-assessment proposal. Hence, there is no justification whatsoever for the denial of the exemption. In the assessment order, the assessing authority has sought to m....
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....sessing officer to the effect that the notebooks manufactured by the petitioner are distinguishable from the ones referred to under the schedules to the Act, and hence would not be entitled to the benefit of exemption either under the GO or the Act. 12. We have heard both learned Senior Counsel carefully and perused the material particular records that are placed before us. 13. We have also devoted careful attention to the categories of notebooks that have been stipulated in the Entries under the Schedules to the Act. Entry 47/ Part B/ Schedule I refers to 'exercise books, graph book and laboratory book', Entry 132/ Part B/ Schedule I, to 'student notebooks and copy books' and Entry 55(f)/ Part B/ Schedule IV, to 'stud....
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....cified purposes such as laboratory use and graphs, cursive writing, copy books and notebooks used for calligraphy, other notebooks will largely come under the generic category of 'student notebooks'. 17. While the aforesaid distinct categories of notebooks stand apart from the category of 'student notebooks', the notebooks manufactured by petitioners being regular notebooks either blank or ruled, for student exercises would, in our considered view, satisfy that definition. There is an allegation in the pre-assessment notice that the petitioner has not has furnished the break-up of the turnover, of graph, exercise and other notebooks. 18. In the replies filed, the petitioner has categorically confirmed that the notebooks so....
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....ate of Andhra Pradesh sought to interpret that phrase with a restricted meaning arguing that the term 'books' would apply only to books that are used for reading and not to accounts books or other kinds of books. This argument was repelled, referring to the decision in Cape Brandy Syndicate v Inland Revenue Commissioners[(1921) 1 K.B. 64] locus classicus for the settled proposition that in a taxing statute, one has to only look at what is said without any room for intendment. 23. In the present case, the GO clearly uses the term 'exercise notebooks' and there can be no two views on the position that the notebooks manufactured by petitioners, used by students for the purposes of academic exercises, would satisfy that definit....