STATE TRADING CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAXES CORPORATE DIVISION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under Section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987 praying for a declaration that the goods moved from West Bengal to other States in terms of agreement/contract in between the parties and the sales occasioned thereby inter -State sales within the meaning of Section 3(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and that the order of rejection of the revisional application by Board was illegal.

(2.) THE petitioner is a Government of India undertaking - - a company within the meaning of the Companies Act having its place of business in Calcutta, registered under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and also under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. Importing newsprints from overseas, the petitioner is distributing it to the different publishers of different States, according to allotment made by the Registrar of Newspapers for India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. In the year 1992 -93 the petitioner imported newsprints and sold to different buyers/allottees of different States in terms of the allotment orders issued by the Registrar of Newspapers for India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for printing newspapers. The petitioner therefore, claimed deduction for Rs. 10,15,52,986 from gross turnover under Section 5(2)(a)(v) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 specifying those are as inter -State sale. The respondent No. 1 rejected the claim and levied tax under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 simply on the ground that delivery of goods was made in West Bengal. The respondent No. 1 also levied turnover tax ignoring the provisions of Section 6B(2)(f) of the said Act, 1941.

(3.) AGAINST the findings of the respondent No. 1 revision was preferred before the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board on the 31st January, 1995. On hearing the petitioner, the revisional application was dismissed on the ground that there was no movement as required under law, in pursuance of a contract/agreement in between the petitioner and actual users. The said order passed by the Board is not warranted in law. It is arbitrary and in contravention of the provisions of Section 3(a) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 which is liable to be quashed.