TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (5) TMI 752
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....te Tribunal, Andhra Pradesh [the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal] dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant against the order passed by the Deputy Commissioner on 29.03.2004 in respect of the Assessment Year 2000-2001. 2. CST Appeal No. 2 of 2011 has been filed by the appellant to assail the order dated 29.04.2010 passed by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal dismissing the appeal filed by the appellant against the order dated 29.03.2004 passed by the Deputy Commissioner imposing penalty upon the appellant. 3. The appellant is involved in the business of manufacturing and selling of refined oils and vanaspathi and is operating two units. Unit I is situated at Hyderabad and Unit II is situated at Mahaboobnagar District. 4. For the Assessment Year 2000-01, the appellant disclosed gross turnover of Rs. 85,63,28,607/- and claimed exemption on a turnover of Rs. 84,62,10,492/-. However, when the business premises of the appellant were inspected by the Andhra Pradesh State Authorities on 05.07.2000, it was noticed that the appellant had camouflaged inter-State sales as consignment sales and consignment despatches to agents outside the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh. Consequently,....
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....l Sales Tax (Andhra Pradesh) Rules, 1957 [the 1957 AP Rules] to establish that the relationship between the appellant and the dealers in other States was that of a principal and an agent. After examining the provisions of section 6A of the CST Act and rule 14(3) the 1957 AP Rules and the documents furnished by the appellant, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal noticed that the appellant had not submitted the following documents: (i) Copies of bills issued by agents to purchasers in other States, corresponding to the requirement stipulated under rule 14(3)(d) of the 1957 AP Rules; (ii) Attested extract of the ledger maintained by the agent for the principals i.e., the appellant, corresponding to requirement under rule 14(3)(f) of the 1957 AP Rules; (iii) Copy of authorization sent to the non-resident agent for the sale of goods consigned corresponding to requirement under rule 14(3)(h) of the 1957 Rules; and (iv) Copy of any written contract or any other document in between the appellant and their agent showing their relationship to be of principal and agent corresponding to requirement under rule 14(3)(c) of the 1957 AP Rules. 11. The Sales Tax A....
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....radesh. The relevant portion of the order passed by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal on this issue is reproduced below: "37. ***** We are of the opinion that since the burden had been cast on the appellant to prove his case as per provisions of Sec.6A of the CST Act, 1956 read with Rule 14(3) of the CST AP Rules it would not be wrong if we ignore the investigations of the sales tax authorities completely, considering them to be unnecessary. If the duty cast upon the appellant for submission of various documents as required under Rule 14(3) had been fully discharged by the appellant and despite that the Department had stated that the appellant's agents in other States are bogus or non-existent, it would have been a different matter. In other words, even without placing any reliance or on giving any importance to the details of investigation carried out by the department outside the State of Andhra Pradesh, we are convinced that the appellant has failed to prove that the transactions in which he has claimed exemption from Central Sales Tax are indeed agency transactions and that the dealers in other States to whom the appellant has consigned his goods are indeed genuinely ap....
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....an also not be accepted. The appellant has further submitted that the Deputy Commissioner failed to grant set off of tax paid on the purchases of raw material as contemplated under the Act when she converted the consignment agency transactions as interstate sales. We have to state that no calculation along with documentary evidence to this effect has been submitted by the appellant before us. Therefore, we are unable to grant any relief on this point as well. Further, the appellant submitted that the credit of entire payment of tax deposited by them has not been granted. For this point also the appellant has failed to submit any calculation or any proof before us. Therefore, we are unable to give any order in favour of the appellant on this point also." (emphasis supplied) 16. The levy of penalty upon the appellant was also justified by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal in the following manner: "41. With respect of penalty levied on the appellant U/s. 9(2) and 9(2A) of the CST Act, 1956 read with Sec. 7A(2)(i) of the APGST Act, 1957 the appellant's contention is that since there is no specific levy of penalty provided for the CST Act, 1956 the levy of penalty in their....
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.... 12.03.2004 passed by the Deputy Commissioner is without jurisdiction and void ab initio. In this connection, reliance has been placed on the decision of the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad in M/s. Raghunath & Company, Adilabad vs. The State of Andhra Pradesh [Tribunal Appeal No. 1481/2001 decided on 15.04.2002]; (iii) The assessment proceedings for the Assessment Year 200001 should have been completed within a period of one year from the end of assessment year as contemplated under section 14(1) of the 1957 AP Sales Tax Act but the assessment was made on 12.03.2004 after the limitation expired on 31.03.2002; (iv) Neither the Deputy Commissioner nor the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal returned the defective "F" Forms to the appellant for rectification; (v) The Deputy Commissioner committed an error in double addition of the same transaction relating to turnover of Rs. 81,75,103/-; and (vi) The imposition of penalty upon the appellant is not justified. 20. Shri Manu Sanan, learned counsel appearing for the State of Telangana (respondent no. 1) assisted by Shri Dhananjay Yadav, Shri Akshat Jha and Ms. Devina Sehgal, however,....
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....oner of Commercial Taxes, Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Appellate Deputy Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Deputy Commissioners of Commercial Taxes Assistant Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Commercial Tax Officers and Deputy Commercial Tax Officers. The State Government may appoint a Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and as many Additional Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Joint Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Appellate Deputy Commissioners of Commercial taxes, Deputy Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Assistant Commissioners of Commercial Taxes, Commercial Tax officers and Deputy Commercial Tax Officers as they think fit, for the purpose of performing the functions respectively conferred on them by or under this Act. Such officers shall perform the said functions within such area or areas or the whole of the State of Andhra Pradesh as the State Government or any authority or officer empowered by them in this behalf may assign to them." 25. G.O.M. No. 1091 dated 15.06.1957 was issued prescribing the following assessing authorities: "(i) Assistant Commercial Tax Officer, (ii) Deputy Commercia....
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....in section 4 of the 1957 AP Sales Tax Act by virtue of the provisions of section 4A of the 1957 AP Sales Tax Act. 32. It needs to be noted that section 4A of the 1957 AP Sales Tax Act was inserted by Act No. 9 of 1999 on 06.04.1999. Soon thereafter the Circular dated 03.05.1999 was issued. It also dealt with the provisions of section 4A of the 1957 AP Sales Tax Act. It provides that the new provisions enable the higher authorities to take over such powers and exercise them with proper discretion in the overall interest of revenue as well as the general public. It also provides that the Deputy Commissioner should ensure that powers, wherever necessary, are exercised at such appropriate level as they deem fit. The object of the amendment is to deal effectively with all matters concerning safeguarding of revenue and grievances of taxpayers. The relevant portion of the Circular dated 03.05.1999 is reproduced below: "CCT's Ref. No. A(3)/1007/98/ dt. 3.5.1999 CIRCULAR Sub: Amendment to APGST Act - Implementation - Instructions - Regarding. Ref: Act No. 9 of 1999 dt. 6.4.1999 ***** 2. Power of lower authorities can also be exercised by hi....
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....shall be made only within a period of three years from the expiry of the year to which the assessment relates. Provided that notwithstanding the amendment made to sub section (1) by the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax (Third Amendment) Act, 1995 the period for assessment under this sub section shall continue to be four years for the years preceding to the year 1992-93. Provided further that the period for assessments under this sub-section shall be two years for the assessments relating to the year 1999-2000 and one year for the assessments relating to 2000-2001 and 2001-2002." ***** (3) Where any dealer liable to tax under this Act - (i) fails to submit return before the date prescribed in that behalf, or (ii) produces the accounts, registers and other documents after inspection or (iii) submits a return subsequent to the date of inspection, the assessing authority may, at any time within a period of six years from the expiry of the year to which assessment relates, after issuing a notice to the dealer and after such enquiry as he considers necessary, assess to the best of his judgment, the amount of tax due from the ....
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.... a transfer of documents of title to the goods during their movement from one State to another. ***** 6. Liability to tax on inter-State sales.- (1) Subject to the other provisions contained in this Act, every dealer shall, with effect from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, not being earlier than thirty days from the date of such notification, be liable to pay tax under this Act on all sales of goods other than electrical energy effected by him in the course of inter-State trade or commerce during any year on and from the date so notified: Provided that a dealer shall not be liable to pay tax under this Act on any sale of goods which, in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 5, is a sale in the course of export of those goods out of the territory of India. 6A. Burden of proof, etc., in case of transfer of goods claimed otherwise than by way of sale. - (1) Where any dealer claims that he is not liable to pay tax under this Act, in respect of any goods, on the ground that the movement of such goods from one State to another was occasioned by reason of transfer ....
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.... another as a result of prior contract of sale or purchase. 21. Section 6-A of the Central Act provides that if any dealer claims that he is not liable to pay tax under the Central Act in respect of any goods, on the ground that the movement of such goods from one State to another was occasioned by reason of transfer of such goods by him to any other place of his business or to his agent or principal and not by reason of sale, then the burden of proving that the movement of goods was so occasioned shall be on the dealer. It also provides the mode of discharge of that burden of proof. 22. What follows from a conjoint reading of these provisions is that every dealer is liable to pay tax under the Central Act on the sale of goods effected by him in the course of inter-State trade or commerce during the year of assessment. Where the department takes advantage of the presumption under Section 3(a) and/or to show that there has been a sale or purchase of goods in the course of inter-State trade or commerce and if the assessee disputes that there has been a sale or purchase of goods in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, then the assessee can rebut the presumpti....