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TMI Blog2025 (2) TMI 475X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... assessment years 2002-2003 to 2004-2005. Consequentially, calling upon the assessee-respondent to pay/refund the exempted portion of the tax as per the provision of Package Scheme of Incentives 1993 Hereinafter referred to as 'PSI 1993' on the sale of goods effected in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. 3. The above writ petition has been allowed by the Division Bench of the High Court by the impugned judgment and order dated 30.08.2012 and it has been held that even after the amendment of Section 8(5) of the Central Sales Tax Act In short 'CST Act' by the Finance Act, 2002 with effect from 11.05.2002, the State Governments are empowered to grant total or partial exemption from tax payable on inter-State sales covered under Section 8(1) as also under Section 8(2) of the CST Act in public interest, subject to the fulfilment of requirements of Section 8(4) of the CST Act. Accordingly, the trade circulars and the notices impugned were quashed holding that the State of Maharashtra incorrectly proceeded to issue the same on the premise that the State Government had no power to grant total or partial exemption in respect of transactions covered under Section 8(2) of the CST A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o coming into force by the Finance Act 2002. 9. In this context we had to first refer to Section 8(1) of the CST Act as it stood prior to its amendment by the Finance Act 2002 with effect from 11.05.2002. The Section 8 of the CST Act as a whole as it stood prior to the amendment by the Finance Act 2002 reads as under: "Section 8: Rates of tax on sales in the course of inter-State trade or commerce 1. Every dealer, who in the course of inter-State trade or commerce: (a) sells to the Government any goods; or (b) sells to a registered dealer other than the Government goods of the description referred to in sub-section (3); shall be liable to pay tax under this Act, which shall be four percent of his turnover. 2. The tax payable by any dealer on his turnover insofar as the turnover or any part thereof relates to the sale of goods in the course of inter- State trade or commerce not falling within subsection (1): (a) in the case of declared goods, shall be calculated at twice the rate applicable to the sale or purchase of such goods inside the appropriate State; and (b) in the case of goods other than declared goods, shall be calculated at the rate of ten percent or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as may be mentioned in the notification. (b) that in respect of all sales of goods or sales of such classes of goods as may be specified in the notification, which are made, in the course of inter-state trade or commerce, by any dealer having his place of business in the State or by any class of such dealers as may be specified in the notification to any person or to such class or persons as may be specified in the notification, no tax under this Act shall be payable or the tax on such sales shall be calculated at such lower rates than those specified in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) as may be mentioned in the notification." 10. Section 8(1) of the CST Act provides for a rate of tax for sales carried out by dealer to registered dealers of the other States or the sale of goods to the Government in respect of specified goods. It inter-alia provides that every dealer who in the course of the inter-State trade or commerce sells to the Government any goods or sells to the registered dealer other than the Government, the goods of the particular description, shall be liable to pay tax at the rate of 4 per cent of its turnover. 11. Section 8(2) of the CST Act prescribes the rat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Digvijay (Supra) that Section 8(5) of the CST Act was amended by Finance Act 2002 with effect from 11.05.2002. The amended Section 8(5) of the CST Act reads as under: "Section 8(5) - Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the State Government may, if it is satisfied that it is necessary so to do in the public interest, by notification in the Official Gazette and subject to such conditions as may be specified therein, direct: (a) no tax under this Act shall be payable by any dealer having his place of business in the State in respect of the sales by him, in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, to a registered dealer or the Government from any such place of business of any such goods or classes of goods as may be specified in the notification, or that the tax on such sales shall be calculated at such lower rates than those specified in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) as may be mentioned in the notification; or (b) in respect of all sales of goods or sales of such classes of goods as may be specified in the notification, which are made in the course of inter- State trade or commerce, to a registered dealer or the Government by any dealer having his pla ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .03.1998 respectively and that said benefit was available to the assessee-respondent up to the period of 2012 or to the extent of Rs.273.54 crore, whichever was earlier. The said benefit granted to the assessee-respondent was not with any restriction, much less the condition of submission of Form 'C' and 'D'. Thus, on the basis of such exemption granted by the petitioner vide Eligibility Certificate dated 20.02.1998 and Entitlement Certificate dated 24.03.1998, a substantive right had accrued to the respondent to claim the said benefit up to the year 2012 or to the extent of Rs.273.54 crore. 19. True it is that, in view of the amendment of Section 8(5) by the Finance Act, 2002, the State Government ceases to have power to grant exemption in respect of sale of goods covered under Section 8(2) but that is not the issue herein. The precise issue in the present case is whether the aforesaid amendment would take away the right which had accrued to the assessee-respondent under the Eligibility/Entitlement certificates wherein absolute exemptions were granted without any condition of submission of Form 'C' and 'D'. 20. It is to be noted that the circular, issued by the Commissioner unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt of the said benefit in future would be restrictive to conditions imposed by the amended provision. 23. It is a cardinal principle of construction that every statute is prima-facie perspective in nature unless it is expressly or by necessary implication made to have retrospective operations. Unless there are words in the statutes sufficient to show the intention of the legislature to affect existing rights, it is deemed to be prospective only. 24. In S.L. Srinivasa Jute Twine Mills (P) Ltd. vs. Union of India & Anr. 2006 (2) SCC 740 this Court has quoted the observations of Lopes L.J.: "every statute, it is said, which takes away or impairs vested rights acquired under existing laws, or creates a new obligation or imposes a new duty, or attaches a new disability in respect of transactions already past, must be presumed to be intended not to have a retrospective effect". 25. This Court, while relying upon the above observation in reference to Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 which provides for the effect of the repeal, observed that in term of clause (c) of Section 6, unless a different intention appears the repeal shall not affect any right, privilege or liability ac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the amended provision which provides for taking away such a right granted to the assessee-respondent. 29. The State Government while applying the aforesaid amended Section 8(5) was not justified in taking away such a right accrued to the assessee-respondent on mere prospective amendment of Section 8(5) without revoking the Entitlement Certificate dated 24.03.1998 without notice or opportunity of hearing. 30. In view of the above facts and circumstances, on the above short point, the State Government was not competent to issue the impugned notices for revising the assessment of the assessee-respondent and to demand the exempted tax only for the reason that the assessee-respondent has not submitted Form 'C' and 'D' in support of inter-State sale, trade & commerce. The requirement of submission of Form 'C' and 'D' would apply prospectively after 11.05.2002 i.e., after the Finance Act of 2002. Accordingly, in our opinion the appeal lacks merit and hence dismissed. Civil Appeal No. 13523 of 2015, Civil Appeal No. 13524 of 2015, Civil Appeal No. 13525 of 2015, Civil Appeal No. 13526 of 2015, Civil Appeal No. 13527 of 2015, Civil Appeal No. 13522 of 2015 and Civil Appeal Nos. of 2025 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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