RICH GRAVISS PRODUCTS PVT LTD Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH REPRESENTED BY THE SR BEFORE STAT HYDERABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Tax Revision Case, under Section 34((1) of the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (for short "the VAT Act"), is filed against the order dated 10-02-2011 in T.A. No.393 of 2010 passed by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad (for short "the Tribunal").

(2.) THE petitioner - M/s. Rich Graviss Products Private Limited, is a registered dealer under the VAT Act. THE case of the petitioner is that it is a manufacturer of "Rich's Whip Topping" (for short "the product") from out of edible vegetable oils and fats. It is not a sweet meat. It is an industrial input sold to bakeries and confectionary industry. It cannot be consumed directly by anyone except using the same for manufacture of bakery products and in hotel industry. THErefore, its case is that the product is an industrial input and it falls under Entry 100(4) of Schedule - IV to the VAT Act, but it does not fall under residuary Schedule -V to the VAT Act, as such, it is liable to tax at the rate of 4% only. Accordingly, the petitioner sought clarification on the following issue from Authority for Clarification and Advance Ruling (for short "the Ruling Authority") under Section 67 of the VAT Act: Whether the product "Rich's Whip Topping" is a raw material for bakery and allied industries falls under Entry 100 of Schedule IV to the APVAT Act, 2005 or any other entry of Schedule IV?"

(3.) COUNSEL for the petitioner would submit that the product (Rich's Whip Topping) is an industrial input prepared from out of edible vegetable oils and fats and it is not a sweet meat. The counsel would further submit that the product cannot be consumed directly by anyone except using the same for making bakery products and in hotel industry. The counsel would also submit that the Ruling Authority and the Tribunal are ignorant of the amendment made to Entry 100 of Schedule - IV to the VAT Act by Act No.28 of 2008 with effect from 01.7.2008, which says that the goods sold as industrial inputs would fall under Entry 100 of Schedule - IV to the VAT Act, and erroneously classified the product in question that it falls under the residuary Schedule - V to the VAT Act. In support of his contentions, the counsel relied on the decisions of the Apex Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. M/s. Pyare Lal Malhotra AIR 1976 SC 800, Dunlop India Ltd. & another v. Union of India and others AIR 1977 SC 597, M/s. Bharath Forge and Press Industries (P) Ltd. v. Collector of Central Excise, Baroda, Gujarat AIR 1990 SC 616(1), Indian Metals and Ferro Alloys v. CCE 1991 (1) SCC 125, Rajasthan Roller Flour Mills Association and another v. State of Rajasthan and others 1994 (1) SCC 413, Commissioner of Central Excise, Calcutta v. M/s. Sharma Chemical Works AIR 2003 SC 2448, M/s. Puma Ayurvedic Herbal (P) Ltd. v. Commissioner, Central Excise, Nagpur AIR 2006 SC 1561, and also a decision of this Court in M/s. Ravi Agencies v. The State of A.P. 7 APSTJ (1988) 216