STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. RELIANCE INDUSTRIES LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Tax Appeals and writ petition are closely connected. We may first record facts from Tax Appeal No.649/2014. This tax appeal is filed by the State Government to challenge a judgement dated 25.3.2014 passed by the Gujarat Value Added Tax Tribunal ("the Tribunal" for short). While admitting the Tax Appeal, the Court had framed the following substantial questions of law :

(2.) These questions arise in the following factual background. The respondent assessee Reliance Industries Limited, is registered under the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act ("the VAT Act" for short) and under the Central Sales Tax Act ("the CST Act" for short) and is engaged in refining and sale of petroleum products. During the period under consideration, assessee had sold Liquified Petroleum Gas ("LPG" for short) for domestic use to LPG Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. the purchasing dealer. According to the assessee, since the whole of the tax on such sale was exempt under entry 69 issued under the notification by the Government of Gujarat in exercise of powers section 5(2) of the VAT Act, the appellant had not collected tax on such sale in respect of its inter-State sales, relying on provisions of section 8(1) of the CST Act. Entry 69 prior to 3.10.2008 read as under :

(3.) This was amended with effect from 3.10.2008 and reads as under :