HINDUSTAN CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In these petitions, the petitioner has prayed for quashing of orders passed by the Joint Excise and Taxation Commissioner (Range)-cum-Revisional Authority, Ambala (respondent No. 2).

(2.) For the sake of convenience, we have taken the facts from C.W.P. No. 15749 of 2004.

(3.) The petitioner-Company contested the notice issued by respondent No. 2. In the reply filed on its behalf, it was pleaded that after the repeal of the 1973 Act by the Haryana Value Added Tax, 2003 (for short, the VAT Act'), respondent No. 2 did not have jurisdiction to initiate proceedings under the old Act. It was claimed that no proceedings were pending or deemed to be pending on 1.4.2003 i.e. the date of commencement of the VAT Act and, therefore, no action could be taken under the repealed Act. It was also pleaded that notice issued for refund of the assessment order was barred by limitation. On merits, it was pleaded that while filing the aforesaid return, it had claimed deductions on account of duty draw, back received from the Government of India, as per Export Import Policy. It is further pleaded that the aforesaid deduction was in respect of excise duty amount paid by the manufacturer on cement and steel from whom petitioner-Company had purchased the goods, which were used in the execution of the project (permanently transferred in works). It is further pleaded that the excise duty on cement and steel was reimbursed as the project executed by the petitioner-Company was funded by the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and supplies to such projects are to be regarded as "deemed export" eligible for the aforesaid benefits. It is also claimed that the aforesaid deduction of the petitioner-Company was as per the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Commissioner of Sales Tax, U.P. v. Indian Aluminium Cable Ltd., (1999)315 S.T.C. 172. After considering reply dated 16.6.2004 (Annexure P3) filed on behalf of the petitioner-Company, respondent No. 2 passed order dated 12.7.2004 (Annexure P5) whereby he revised the assessment order and declared that a sum of Rs. 65,35,632/- was recoverable from it.