SHREEPATI COMPUTERS Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER, COMMERCIAL TAXES DEPARTMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present Sales Tax Revisions / References (for short "STRs"), filed under Sec. 84 of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003 (for short "RVAT Act"), were admitted on following questions of law:

(2.) Since common question of law of classification of 'memory cards' under the RVAT Act is involved in all these STRs, with the consent of the parties, they were heard together and are now being decided by way of this common order. STR No. 17/2022 is taken as lead file to peruse the facts.

(3.) Learned counsels for the petitioner-assessee submits that the petitioner-assessee are engaged in trading of different type of IT products including the goods in question, i.e. the 'memory cards'. The petitioner-assessee had, since beginning, been effecting sale of the goods in question and charging tax @ 5/5.5 percent by treating the goods in question to be classifiable under Entry 10 of Part A of Schedule IV to the RVAT Act, which read as "Prepared unrecorded media for sound recording or similar recording of other phenomena including Compact Disc (CD) and Digital Versatile Disc (DVD)". However, after a survey of the business premises being conducted by the respondent-revenue on 8/10/2015, Show Cause Notice (for short "SCN") was issued to the petitioner-assessee under Sec. 25/26 of RVAT Act as the respondent-revenue had determined that the goods in question, i.e. the memory cards, were not covered under any of the specific entries and hence liable to be taxed at the residuary rate of 14/14.5 percent. Consequently, the assessment order dtd. 15/12/2015 was passed wherein additional tax, interest and penalty was imposed upon the petitioner-assessee. The Appellate Authority, vide order dtd. 29/3/2016, upheld the levy of tax and interest but set aside the penalty. The Tax Board, vide order dtd. 15/12/2021, had also maintained the levy of additional tax and interest.