DEGREMONT LIMITED Vs. KOLKATTA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application has been filed by the Defendant under Order VII, Rule 11 of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908 (CPC for short) for rejection of the plaintiffs suit for recovery of amount of Rs 88,80,107, on the grounds that this Court is not vested with the territorial jurisdiction to try this Suit.

(2.) THE Plaintiff is a company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 having its registered office at New Delhi and head office at Gurgaon, Haryana. The defendant is a body corporate constituted by the West Bengal Act, LIX 1980. Vide Memorandum of Agreement (MOA hereinafter) dated 22.08.2001, the defendant awarded a contract to the plaintiff to operate and maintain for an initial period of three years, a 20 MGD water treatment plant (Module 1 plant hereinafter) at Palta, West Bengal. The aforesaid contract provided the defendant with the option of extending the duration of the contract by thirty six months, and the same was extended till April 2006. Subsequently the defendant awarded the plaintiff another contract for operation of a second water treatment plant (Module 2 plant hereinafter) at Palta, West Bengal by issuing work orders. Except for the fee component, the terms stipulated in the contract dated 22.08.2001 were applicable to Module 2 plant as well.

(3.) THE plaintiff claims that it raised invoices for Module 1 and Module 2 plants for the applicable fees as well as amount of service tax and education cess which remained unpaid by the defendant, while the plaintiff continued to make payment of the service tax and education cess at New Delhi between 31.03.2004 to 08.06.2007. The plaintiff claims that it demanded the payment towards reimbursement on account of service tax and education cess on various occasions and that the plaintiff also forwarded to the defendant the reply of the Joint Commissioner of service tax, Kolkata and the Joint Commissioner of service tax, New Delhi, confirming that service tax was leviable on the entire contract. Thereafter, the defendant confirmed to the plaintiff vide acknowledgement dated 31.12.2008, its liability to reimburse the plaintiff for service tax payments.