CENTUM ELECTRONICS LIMITED Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are forty seven revision petitions filed by the assessee against the order of the Tribunal dated 13.8.2013, whereby the orders of the first appellate authority, as well as the Assessing Authority, have been confirmed.

(2.) The procedure for grant of exemption had been provided for in the notifications issued under the KST Act, wherein it had been provided that 'if an Information Technology Industrial Unit exercising the option for tax exemption, collects any amount by way of tax, it shall forthwith become ineligible for tax exemption'. By virtue of Section 9(2) of the CST Act, the procedure under the KST Act was to be adopted for the CST Act also and thus, by the notification of the same date i.e., 21.8.1997 issued under the CST Act, petitioner company was entitled to exemption under the CST Act by following the procedure provided in the KST notification. There is no dispute that the petitioner company was subjected to Karnataka Sales Tax for sales within the State of Karnataka and for Inter-State sales, Central Sales Tax was leviable. The procedure adopted for implementation of the notifications for both the Acts was the same and the petitioner had been granted such exemption under both the Acts, with regard to which also there is no dispute.

(3.) For the tax period from 1.4.2005 till 31.3.2007, the assessee collected tax, both in the case of Karnataka Value Added Tax, as well as the Central Sales Tax, and deposited the same with the Government and thereafter claimed refund of the net tax, which was duly allowed to the assessee in both the cases i.e., under the KVAT Act, as well as CST Act.