HCL INFO SYSTEMS LTD Vs. COMMISSIONER OF TAXES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Dr. A.K. Saraf, learned senior counsel for the petitioner and the learned Govt. Advocate. The petitioner, HCL Info system Ltd, is a limited Company, engaged in sale of office automation products. The petitioner is also a registered dealer under the Assam General Sales Tax Act, 1993, for short the Act.

(2.) The broad facts leading to the present writ petition may be summarised as follows :

(3.) The petitioner-Company undertakes maintenance contract of the office automation supplied by it or other company, and on these maintenance services the Company did not pay any tax. The case of the Company is that the maintenance service contract entered into by it with the customers are purely labour and service contract and in course of the executing such contract, if necessary, certain parts are replaced and the worn out or defective parts become the property of the petitioner-Company and thereby there is no transfer in the goods from the petitioner-Company to the customers. The maintenance service undertaken by the petitioner is in respect of Fax Machine and Copier Machine, which is not included in the Schedule VI of the Act. The business premises of the petitioner-Company was inspected by the Inspector of Taxes, Unit-D, Guwahati, on 9.11.1998 and certain Books of Accounts were seized. Subsequently, a show cause notice dated 31st December, 1998 was issued to the Manager of the Company to show cause as to why the Company should not be prosecuted under Sections 58(A),59,61,16 of the Act, as the Company has suppressed the turnover and defaulted in payment of taxes.