K.P. VARGHESE Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These revisions are filed against penalty orders issued by the Intelligence Officer (IB), Commercial Taxes, Thiruvananthapuram for non-registration of the business run by the revision petitioner in the name of Welgate Audio and Video Complex, and for evasion of tax. The common orders of the Tribunal for the years 1998-99 to 2003-04 are challenged in STREV Nos. 25 of 2012 to 30 of 2012. The separate order of the Tribunal for the year 2004-05 involving the very same facts has been challenged in STREV No. 31 of 2012. The substantial questions of law raised by the revision petitioner against the common order of the Tribunal are as hereunder:

(2.) The appellant was not a registered dealer and it appears that he raised a contention with respect to payment of tax under the compounding provisions of the Act, that too in the year 1993-94. The allegations in all the revisions are with respect to the years after 1998-99. The Intelligence Wing of the Commercial Taxes Department gathered details from the income-tax returns of the appellant which revealed a pattern of evasion practised by the revision petitioner during the subject years. Relying on the returns filed before the income-tax authorities and adopting the income conceded before the income-tax authorities, evasion of tax under the sales tax enactment was noticed and penalty proceedings were initiated under section 45A of the Act. In certain years, the profit and loss account prepared by the revision petitioner's chartered accountant was scrutinized and sales turnover as also rent collection detected therein were adopted as the sales turnover. This was the turnover conceded before the income-tax authorities and on which income-tax was paid.

(3.) For the year 2004-05, it was also revealed that the company had effected purchase of rights of feature films from movie distributors for making video copies in cassettes, compact disks and digital discs for sale. The movies so recorded were sold under the trade mark "Welgate Group" to one M/s. Welgate Marketing who sold the video cassettes through sub-distributors. Huge turnover was detected in the said year and the revision petitioner along with his wife was revealed to have been conducting all those 12 units which purchased video rights of films and the distribution and sale of the copies were carried on.