ACC LIMITED Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The questions of law framed in the above appeal arising from the order of the Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Bihar (henceforth for short, 'the Tribunal') by order no.6 dtd. 27/7/2015 are the following:-

(2.) The facts on which the above questions of law arise are as follows:- The appellant manufactures and sells cement across the country through its various sales unit, one of which is located at Patna and the appellant was also a registered dealer under the Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (for brevity, 'VAT Act'). The appellant imports cement into the State from outside the State of Bihar by way of stock transfer to its depot at Patna and the cement is sold within the capital city as also in other districts in the State. There are eight C&F agents appointed in Bihar for the fifteen Warehouses situated in different towns within the State, for storage of cement.

(3.) In the assessment year 2010-11, the appellant imported 10,12,535.90 MT of cement into the State from their own manufacturing units situated in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand. In addition to the freight paid to the Railways and commission paid to the C&F agents, entry tax was also paid. The audit team of the Commercial Taxes Department (henceforth for short 'the department') found that the assessee had shown stock transfer from outside the State worth Rs.45,12,63,567.00 in the annual return as well as TAR and the total import value shown in ET-V (Entry Tax Payment) was Rs.527,56,05,041.00, thus concealing value worth Rs.76,29,71,474.00. It was also found that the adjustment of entry tax paid on damaged cement was not admissible under the provisions of the Bihar Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas for Consumption, Use or Sale therein Act, 1993 (for brevity, 'Entry Tax Act').