FERTICHEM COTSPIN LTD. Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The assessee has filed the present petition raising the following substantial questions of law arising out of the order dated 5-3-2009 passed by the VAT Tribunal, Punjab (for short, the 'Tribunal') in Revision No. 1 and 2 of 2008-09 :-

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is a company having its registered office at Chandigarh and its factory at Dera Bassi (Punjab). The assessment of the petitioner-company for the year 2002-03 was framed by the assessing authority vide assessment order dated 28-9-2004. Whatever amount of tax was assessed, the same was adjusted against the limit, for which the petitioner had been granted exemption from payment of tax. During the year in question, the petitioner had received DEPB, which is a tradable commodity on 16-8-2001 at Chandigarh office. The petitioner-company even received import/export licence at the Chandigarh address of the petitioner-company. The DEPB, which is a tradable commodity was sold by the petitioner from its Chandigarh office to the buyers located at Calcutta and Delhi and even the payment was also received at Chandigarh. The goods never entered in the State of Punjab. Despite the fact that the authorities under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 (for short, 'the Act'), had no jurisdiction to assess the transaction of sale of DEPB from Chandigarh office of the petitioner-company to the buyers located in different States, not in Punjab, suo motu notice under Section 21 of the Act was issued on 8-1-2008 seeking to reassess the tax on the same under the Act. It was duly replied to by the petitioner raising the issue of jurisdiction of the Commissioner to bring the transaction to tax, inter alia, on the ground that the goods were not taxable under the provisions of the Act and secondly, the transaction was in the course of inter-State trade from Chandigarh. Despite these facts the revisional authority ignoring the provisions of the Act as well as the settled principles of law, levied the tax. The order was upheld by the Tribunal in revision filed by the petitioner.

(3.) The submission of learned counsel for the petitioner was that in view of Section 29 of the Act, the State had jurisdiction to levy tax only on the sale or purchase of goods, which takes place within the State of Punjab. The situs of sale in the case in hand being from Chandigarh to the States situated outside the State of Punjab, the transaction was not liable to tax, especially treating it to be local sale within the State of Punjab, whereas the material on record clearly suggested that it was a transaction in the course of inter-State trade, as all the buyers were located in different States outside the State of Punjab. He further submitted that despite the contention regarding the transaction being in the course of inter-State trade from Chandigarh and the buyers being outside the State of Punjab, neither the revisional authority nor the Tribunal has considered this aspect. No notice under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 had been issued.