H N MEHRA Vs. STATE OF HARYANA ETC

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenge in the present writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution is to the notification dated 31.03.2003 (Annexure P/1) read into Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (hereinafter referred to as "the VAT Act") and the order dated 23.01.2017 (Annexure P/7) passed by Haryana Tax Tribunal, Chandigarh (for short, "the Tribunal") in STA No.173-174 of 2011-12, whereby the preliminary issue raised by the petitioner was dismissed.

(2.) Petitioner company is registered under the VAT Act in the name and style of M/s H.M. Mehra & Co., and is being represented by Gaurav Mehra, its Director. The petitioner company is having a manufacturing and processing unit at G.T. Road, Kundli, District Sonepat (Haryana). Challenge in the present writ petition is to the validity of the notification dated 31.03.2003 and jurisdiction acquired by the State. As per the petitioner, the VAT Act came into operation only w.e.f. 1.4.2003 and as such enforcement of notification dated 31.03.2003 is not permissible and the action taken by the State under the said notification is not binding upon the petitioner being per-se without jurisdiction. Grounds taken in the petition are that the "words and expressions" as defined in Section 2(1) of the VAT Act are clear and there is no ambiguity and as such, there was no necessity of taking any support from any other Act. As per Section 1(c) of the VAT Act, the Act has come into force on the "appointed day". The "appointed day" has been defined under Section 2(1)(c) of the VAT Act, which is extracted below:-

(3.) As per the petitioner, the State could not exercise any power under the provisions of the VAT Act, when the said Act had not come into existence on 31.03.2003. The Act was legislated and got the assent of Governor of Haryana on 28.03.2003 and the appointed day was provided in the Act itself. As such, no order, rule, bye-laws made prior to 1.4.2003 could be enforced and the same could have been issued only after coming into force of the VAT Act.