LORD VENKETSHWARA CATERERS Vs. COMMERCIAL TAXES OFFICER ANTI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three revision petitions filed by the petitioner-assessee are directed against the impugned order of the Tax Board, Ajmer, whereby the Tax Board, Ajmer, allowed the Revenue's appeals and restored the penalty under Section 65 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1994 (for short, "the Act") for assessment years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. Therefore, the same are being disposed of by this common order.

(2.) The petitioner-assessee was running a canteen for serving foods and drinks in the factory premises of M/s. Electrolux Maharaja International Limited, Shahajahanpur for the employees of the said company and it received 75 per cent of the subsidy from the employee welfare fund and the employees were paying only 25 per cent of the cost of food or breakfast served in the said canteen. The said petitioner-assessee did not obtain any registration under the sales tax law nor it collected any sales tax from the employees of the said company. On a survey made by the assessing authority on December 28, 1999, it was found by the assessing authority that the assessee was liable to get itself registered and pay the tax on the sale of such food items in the canteen and accordingly, by an assessment order dated March 14, 2000, the assessing authority passed an order imposing the tax, interest and penalty at double the rate of tax upon the petitioner-assessee. The position of tax, interest and penalty for these three years is given below in the form of a chart:

(3.) The petitioner-assessee immediately got itself registered as a dealer without prejudice to his right to contend that such sale of food items was not taxable under the Act and it was so registered by the assessing authority with effect from the date of commencement of its business, namely, October 1, 1997 and the petitioner-assessee also paid the tax along with the interest imposed by the assessing authority. The issue, therefore, in the present revision petitions is only pertaining to penalty imposed under Section 65 of the Act at double the quantum of tax imposed.