2014 (5) TMI 94 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Cancellation of license - Discrepancy in stock register - Held that - It is evident that in the Stock Register maintained by petitioner for the year 2010-11, he had shown Nil stock in respect to Country Made Liquor. Copy of Stock Register has also been filed by petitioner for the period March 2010-11 on page 46 and for April 2011-12 on page 50. Page 46 and 47 show that on 31.3.2010 the stock was Zero and page 50 shows that on 26.4.2011 the Stock was 207 quarters of Country made Liquor. The checking was actually made and bottles of Country Liquor were seized by Checking Staff is a fact, admitted by petitioner in his reply and affidavit, placed on record on page 68 to the writ petition. Therein he has stated that entire liquor, which was ceased, pertained to excise year 2011-12 and not for the year 2010-11. However, in the Stock Register of 2011-12, balance was only 207, hence availability of 1397 quarters which was seized, could not be explained. In these facts and circumstances, it is clear that unauthorized liquor was available and seized on checking. That is how Collector has passed order of cancellation - Decided against assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to cancellation of Country Made Liquor Retail Licence for 2011-12 based on unauthorized liquor found during checking.

Analysis:
The petitioner's writ petition contested the cancellation of their Country Made Liquor Retail Licence for the year 2011-12. The dispute arose from a checking conducted at the petitioner's retail shop, revealing unauthorized liquor stock. The checking team discovered 1274 quarters for the year 2010-11 and 123 quarters for 2011-12, despite the petitioner showing 'Zero' stock for 2010-11 in the Stock Register. Subsequently, a show cause notice was issued, leading to the Collector canceling the licence, which was later upheld by the State Government through a revisional order. The petitioner argued that no incriminating evidence was found against them in a criminal case, and the appeal was allowed by the Additional Excise Commissioner. However, the Revisional Authority upheld the cancellation based on conjectures and surmises.

Upon examination of the record, it was evident that the petitioner's Stock Register for 2010-11 showed 'Nil' stock, while for 2011-12, it indicated 207 quarters of Country Made Liquor. The seized liquor during the checking was confirmed by the petitioner in their reply and affidavit, stating it belonged to the excise year 2011-12. However, the discrepancy arose as the Stock Register only showed a balance of 207 quarters, leaving 1397 quarters unaccounted for. The presence of unauthorized liquor during the checking led to the Collector's decision to cancel the licence.

The court found no apparent error in the impugned order and concluded that the cancellation was justified based on the unauthorized liquor found during the checking. Consequently, the writ petition lacked merit and was dismissed.