2020 (10) TMI 1060 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Denial of issuance of Form- C by the concerned authority - benefit of concessional rate of tax - purchase of High Speed Diesel - HELD THAT - There is nothing to prejudice the review petitioners. This Court had only set aside the circular dated 11.10.2017, issued by the State of Jharkhand in its Commercial Taxes Department, denying the issuance of Form-'C', to the writ petitioners and as a necessary consequence thereof, held the writ petitioners entitle to refund of the tax deposited by them. Since it was brought to the notice of this Court that pursuant to the Form- C issued in obedience of the interim orders passed by this Court, provisional credit notes had also been issued to the writ petitioners by the review petitioner Oil Company, we made it clear that the provisional credit notes shall be given effect to, and in any case, if the CST has been deposited to the State Exchequer, the respective Oil Companies shall be entitled to claim the refund thereof. There is no occasion for review of the Judgment and Order dated 28.8.2019 passed by this Court in W.P.(C) No. 6048 of 2017 and the analogous matters, rather, if the refund of the CST deposited to the State Exchequer in the State of West Bengal is refused by the State authorities of West Bengal, it is open to the writ petitioners or even to the review petitioners to approach the appropriate forum for the required relief. We only want to make it clear that so far as the State of Jharkhand is concerned, in paragraph-27 of our Judgment, we have already given the liberty even to the review petitioners to claim the refund from the authorities concerned, if the amount of CST had already been deposited by them in the State Exchequer. Review application dismissed.

Summary

Issues:
Review of Judgment and Order dated 28.8.2019 regarding denial of Form-'C' issuance for High Speed Diesel under CST Act.

Analysis:
The judgment addressed multiple civil review applications arising from the same Judgment and Order. The Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. was aggrieved by paragraph No.27 of the Judgment dated 28.8.2019, which quashed a circular denying Form-'C' issuance for High Speed Diesel. The writ petitioners, bulk purchasers of High Speed Diesel, were denied concessional CST rates by the State of Jharkhand. The Court directed the issuance of Form-'C' and provisionally granted refunds, which the review petitioners, oil companies, contested as not prayed for or argued by the writ petitioners.

During the proceedings, it was clarified that the Judgment was not reserved, and the review petitioners' claims for refunds in other states were highlighted. The review petitioners argued against the refund directions in paragraph-27, citing a Gujarat High Court decision on unjust enrichment. However, the Court found no prejudice to the review petitioners in the Judgment, as it only set aside the circular and allowed for refunds of deposited CST. Contempt applications by some writ petitioners led to the review applications, which were dismissed as there was no need for a review. The Court clarified that the review petitioners could seek refunds from the authorities concerned if CST was deposited in the State Exchequer, emphasizing the liberty given in the Judgment.

In conclusion, the civil review applications were dismissed, and pending caveat and interlocutory applications were disposed of. The Court maintained that the case of the petitioners was not governed by the Gujarat High Court's decision, and there was no merit in the review applications.