2008 (8) TMI 858 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Valuation - inclusion of inward freight in the turnover of coal - Held that - the dealer is not a coal agent but is principal and as such, the inward freight shall form part of the turnover - revision dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
Inclusion of inward freight in turnover of coal for assessment year 1995-96.

Analysis:
The revision before the High Court was against the Trade Tax Tribunal's order regarding the inclusion of inward freight in the turnover of coal for the assessment year 1995-96. The applicant, a coal dealer, claimed to be a coal agent and argued that the inward freight should not be part of the turnover as it was separately charged in the bills. However, this argument was not accepted by the authorities, including the Tribunal. The main question raised in the revision was whether the Tribunal was legally justified in including freight in the value of coal sales, even when it was separately charged in the bill.

The assessing officer found that the dealer had purchased coal in their own account and bore the freight for transportation from the colliery to the depot. The Tribunal established from the case records that the dealer imported the coal and paid the freight, leading to the conclusion that the inward freight should be part of the turnover. The High Court referred to previous judgments, including Commissioner of Trade Tax v. Sunil Kumar Coal Agent, Commissioner of Trade Tax v. Ramapati Tewari Jainath Tewari, and Commissioner of Trade Tax v. Sharma Coal Co., which held that dealers like the applicant were principals, not agents, and therefore, the inward freight should be included in the turnover.

Based on the precedents and the facts of the case, the High Court found no merit in the revision and dismissed it. The applicant was ordered to pay costs amounting to Rs. 2,000.