PRODAIR AIR PRODUCTS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED Vs. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF STATE TAX SPECIAL CIRCLE II, KERALA SGST DEPARTMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Despite the existence of an alternative remedy of appeal, petitioner has approached this Court, challenging assessment orders issued under Sec. 25 of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (for short the Act). While W.P.(C) No. 17451 of 2021 challenges the assessment orders for three years, W.P.(C) No. 18783 of 2021 challenges the rejection of claim of input tax credit for tax paid on capital goods in terms of Rule 13 of the Kerala Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 (for short 'the Rules'). The assessment years involved in the former writ petition are 2015-16, 2016- 17 and 2017-18.

(2.) Petitioner is a company engaged in the business of manufacture and sale of industrial gases and is a dealer registered under the Act. As part of increasing the refining capacity of the Kochi Refineries of the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (for short 'BPCL), it was decided to implement a project for constant and uninterrupted supply of industrial gases like hydrogen, nitrogen and HP steam. Pursuant to an invitation for tender floated by BPCL to supply industrial gases, an agreement was entered into on 21/8/2013 between petitioner and BPCL by virtue of which petitioner agreed to Build, Own, Operate (BOO) and maintain a hydrogen and nitrogen manufacturing plant and to maintain exclusive and continuous supply of industrial gases to BPCL.

(3.) Petitioner further contends that as per the agreement, petitioner was to build, own, operate and maintain the plant at the cost of the petitioner, on the land allocated by BPCL on a lease basis and to ensure an exclusive and continuous supply of the requisite industrial gases to BPCL for 15 years, subject to extensions.