2020 (2) TMI 476 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Validity of order of enhancement of tax - revisionist's activity is under PDS Schemes of the Govt. - exemption under the Provisions of UP VAT Act - HELD THAT - The controversy before the authorities was only with regard to the rate and price of wheat and rice. The Adjudicating Authority, the First Appellate Authority and the Commercial Tax Tribunal had accepted the rate fixed by Government of India. No evidence or material was produced by the revisionist before either of the authorities while adjudicating the said rate. Even before this Court no material or evidence has been placed for this Court to come to any other finding in favour of the revisionist. Revision dismissed - decided against revisionist.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to order of Commercial Tax Tribunal rejecting second appeal and upholding first appellate authority's order regarding tax enhancement for transactions under PDS schemes.

Analysis:
The revisionist challenged the order of the Commercial Tax Tribunal rejecting the second appeal and upholding the first appellate authority's decision regarding tax enhancement for transactions under the Public Distribution System (PDS) schemes. The revisionist contended that as per Section 7 of the U.P. Value Added Tax Act, 2008, tax should not be levied on items covered by PDS, except kerosene, under Schedule 1 of the Act. The revisionist argued that being involved in supplying goods to the PDS, the transactions should be exempt from VAT.

The assessment was conducted under Section 28(2) of the VAT Act for the financial year 2008-09, revealing discrepancies in the revisionist's books related to the purchase and sale of food items not covered under PDS. The First Appellate Authority noted discrepancies in purchase rates of wheat and rice, rejecting the appeal due to lack of evidence or purchase invoices for miscellaneous items. The revisionist then appealed to the Commercial Tax Tribunal, challenging the rates of wheat and rice fixed by the Assessing Authority.

The Tribunal rejected the second appeal, noting the revisionist's failure to provide evidence for miscellaneous expenses and not raising the admitted liability to pay tax on goods procured for PDS purposes. The revisionist did not address this issue before the First Appellate Authority or the Tribunal, leading to the dismissal of the appeal. The revisionist's reliance on the case law and failure to present new evidence resulted in the court dismissing the revision for lack of merit.

The court emphasized that a revision under Section 11 of the Act can only be filed on a question of law arising from the Tribunal's order. Citing various precedents, the court reiterated that a question must be raised before the Tribunal to be considered in a revision. Since the revisionist did not raise the issue of tax liability on PDS transactions before the lower authorities, the court found the framed question irrelevant and dismissed the revision for lacking merit and evidence to support a different finding.