JINSASAN DISTRIBUTORS Vs. COMMERCIAL TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ petitions is taken up for disposal by consent of the counsel for the petitioners and Mr. A.R. Jaya Prathap, learned Government Advocate (Tax), as all the batch of cases relate to a common issue as to the liability of the petitioners, who are registered dealers, to repay the input tax credit availed by them on lawful purchase of goods from another dealer. The brief facts of the case are as follow: Each one of the petitioners in this case is a registered dealer under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 (for brevity, "the TNVAT Act, 2006") and they are engaged in purchase and sale of tax paid goods and in some cases they are manufacturers, who use the tax paid goods purchased from other dealers. Each one of the petitioners/dealers in this case have availed input tax credit on the amount of tax paid under the TNVAT Act, 2006 by the registered selling dealer on purchase of taxable goods specified in Schedule-I. This benefit is availed by the petitioners herein under Section 19 of the TNVAT Act, 2006.

(2.) Section 2(24) of the TNVAT Act, 2006 defines "input tax" as follows:

(3.) Section 3 of the TNVAT Act, 2006 is the charging section on sale of goods. The petitioners in all these cases have purchased goods from registered dealers and availed input tax credit on the amount of tax paid. Subsequently, the department proceeded to take action against the selling dealers, who sold goods to the petitioners, for one or other reason and cancelled their registration certificates. Based on the cancellation of the registration certificates issued to the selling dealers, the department has issued notices in some cases calling upon the petitioners to show cause as to why input tax credit should not be reversed; in some cases passed revised assessment orders reversing the input tax credit availed; and in W.P.No. 12305 of 2012, a provisional assessment order has been passed reversing the input tax credit availed.