KOCHI REFINERIES LTD. Vs. STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY JOINT COMMISSIONER (LAW), COMMERCIAL TAXES, ERNAKULAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These Review Petitions have been filed by the assessee-Company. The main contention raised at the argument stage is with respect to the disallowance of tax exemption allegedly supported by SRO Forms as also the inter-State consignment supported by F-forms. It is the submission of the learned Counsel appearing for the assessee that, originally, Kochi Refineries Limited (KRL) was a Public Sector Company in which the State Government had substantial interest. M/s.Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (M/s.BPCL) took over the assessee-Company long after the present assessment year, in the year 2005, and in such circumstances, the discrepancies occurred was at the stage when KRL itself was the Company. It is also submitted that, in fact, the assessment order would show that SRO Forms and F-forms validly issued were produced before the authorities. The review seeks re-consideration of the specific issues dealt with herein above.

(2.) In RP No.891/2018, there is a question of hire charges of equipments used by the contractors. There we found that there is no question of law arising. We specifically found that though the assessee contended that there was an agreement asserted of permission to obtain on lease the equipments for carrying out the work of the contractors as per the award made by the assessee, the agreement was not produced before the Assessing Officer. We said so, since the specific contention taken by the assessee was that there was no transfer of right to use and the assessee's own employees were operating the said equipments. We notice that the assessee could have proved it by production of the agreement with a term that though the lease is permitted and the use of equipments could be made by the contractors, the employees of the assessee would operate such equipments. This is a question of fact and not law.

(3.) The takeover by M/s.BPCL cannot absolve them from the liability to produce the statutory forms for claiming exemption under the tax enactment, when assessment of an earlier year is completed. The takeover would also be of the entire assets and liabilities and it is not a case in which the officers of the KRL were sent out from the Company when the takeover was made. In such circumstances, we do not find any reason to accept the above ground for the purpose of the review.