MANIAR AND SONS Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is a Reference under s. 61 (1) of the Bombay ST Act, 1959, made at the instance of the assessees, who are a partnership firm and were registered as a dealer under the said Act and also held a licence under s. 23 of the said Act, in respect of the assessment period Novs. 3rd, 1965 to 31st March, 1966.

(2.) THE facts material for the purposes of deciding this Reference are that during the said assessment period the Applicants purchased plastic bangles of the value of Rs. 2,89,900 from Aurobrite (India) (P) Ltd. In respect of the bangles so purchased by them Aurobrite (India) private Limited issued to the Applicants Invoices in which at the end there appear the words:-- "G.S. tax (Sales Tax) Included " THE amount of such tax included in the invoices was not separately shown. During the assessment period the Applicants resold the bangles so purchased by them for a total price of Rs. 3,92,208/- out of these sales, sales of the value of Rs. 50,000/- were effected to registered dealers who held recognition granted by the CST and against declarations in form 15 to the Bombay ST Rules, 1959, given by such purchasers. In respect of the remaining sales of the aggressive value of Rs. 3,42,208 the Applicants claimed a deduction as resales u/s. 10(2) (i) of the said Act. This claim of the Applicants was rejected. According to the Applicants they had paid a sum of Rs. 8,693,88 P. By way of sales tax and Rs. 7,568,52 P. by way of general sales tax to Aurobrite (India) (P) Ltd. In support of this claim the Applicants filed with the STO, in the course of assessment proceedings, statements issued by the said Aurobrite (India) Private Limited showing the amount of sales tax and general sales tax recovered by the said Company as also a letter from stating that it had remitted the amounts so recovered by it to the Government authorities. THE Applicants also produced another letter from the said Aurobrite (India) (P) Ltd., giving the date and the number of the receipted Challan by which the said amounts were thus paid over by the said Aurobrite (India) (P) Ltd., into the treasury. In the course of their assessment proceedings the Applicants claimed a set-off under r. 42 of the Bombay ST Rules, 1959, in respect of the said sum of Rs. 7,568,52 P., Being the amount of general sales tax, which their vendors, the said Aurobrite (India) (P) Ltd., had recovered or collected from them. THE STO negatived both the claim for deduction and the claim for set-off. Against this order the Applicants filed a first appeal to the Asstt. CST. THE said appeal was dismissed. Against the dismissal of their appeal the Applicants filed a second appeal to the Tribunal which too was dismissed. THEreafter at the instance of the Applicants the Tribunal has stated a case and referred the following two questions for our determination :--

(3.) IN order to arrive at a correct interpretation of Rules 42 and 45 of the said Rules it is necessary to see the scheme with respect to the grant of drawback, set-off or refund as contained in the said Rules. The provisions with respect to the grant of such drawback, set-off or refund are contained in Chapter VII of the said Rules. These Rules have been amended time and again and some new Rules have been inserted. No one would categorize these Rules as being simple or couched in easily intellegible language. For the same thing different expressions are used in different Rules, and the various amendments made thereto add to the confusion. We are none the less to deal with these Rules and to give a consistent interpretation to them.