ESSAR PROJECT LTD. Vs. COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAXES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE civil revision petitions are filed by the assessee questioning the order passed by the revisional authority in relation to the assessment made under the Karnataka Tax on Entry of Goods Act, 1979 (hereinafter referred to as, "the KTEG Act", in short) for the years 2003 -04, 2004 -05, 2005 -06, respectively, framing following questions of law: - -

(2.) SRI T.N. Keshavamurthy, learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner -assessee, placed strong reliance upon the State Government notification enumerating the goods for the purpose of levying entry tax by the assessing authority. He has invited our attention to the notification dated March 30, 2002 published in the Karnataka Gazette, Extraordinary pertaining to serial No. (viii) petroleum products that is to say: - -

(3.) THE learned Additional Government Advocate Mrs. Geetha Menon has sought to justify the order of the revisional authority and placed reliance upon the literature obtained from the website, namely, "panchakanya" wherein bitumen and bitumen "emulsion" are defined. She further contends that the use of "bitumen asphalt" and "bitumen emulsion", though the process of manufacture of the abovesaid goods has to undergo different process at different stages using different machineries and units, however the utility of both commodities is one and the same. Therefore, the petroleum product at entry serial No. 1(viii), sub -entry (d) of the notification should be given broader and enlarged interpretation of the commodity keeping in view the utility of both the commodities. She has also placed reliance upon the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh, Indore v. Jaswant Singh Charan Singh : [1967] 19 STC 469 (SQ and also the Division Bench decision of this court in the case of Business Forms Ltd. v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Karnataka : [1985] 59 STC 87 (Kar). The decision of the apex court referred supra rightly interpreted the "words and phrases" in a popular sense of the word "paper" and the same has been considered and interpreted after referring to different meanings and she submits that the said decision in all fours is applicable in support of the finding and reasons recorded by the assessing authority in levying entry tax in respect of bitumen "emulsion" from the point of its utility though the same is different from bitumen (asphalt). Therefore, she has in these revision petitions, does not arise for our consideration, hence she has requested this court to answer the same against the assessee by affirming common order impugned in these revision petitions.