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2018 (7) TMI 1706 - HC - VAT and Sales TaxScope of Trade Circular No.3T of 2018 dated 16th January 2018 - Recovery of Value Added Tax in excess of 3% - The prayer is that notification No.VAT1517/C.R.136(A)/Taxation1 dated 13th October 2017 should be given effect to and operated from 24th August 2017 - Inter-state Purchase. Whether the petitioners can seek the Writ of mandamus and the direction claimed by them? Held that:- The Trade Circular dated 16.01.2018 says that the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act was introduced with effect from 1.07.2017. Accordingly, the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 was amended from 01.07.2017. After the amendment to the MVAT Act, the definition of the term 'goods' cover only six goods, petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit, natural gas, aviation turbine fuel and alcoholic liquor for human consumption. This Circular also invites the attention of all concerned to Section 16(6A) in the MVAT Act. According to this Circular, subsection (6A) is inserted in Section 16 of MVAT Act to provide for the deemed cancellation of the registration, with effect from 01.07.2017, of the dealers who have not effected any sales of the aforesaid six goods during the period 20162017. Therefore, only those dealers who are effecting the sales of these goods remain registered dealers under the MVAT Act. Until the Government intervened to bring about the parity or equality, there could not have been any assumption or inference as is drawn by the petitioners before us. The petitioners are not challenging the notifications. The Circulars, at best, are for internal guidance or clarification of queries of the Trade and officials, but their language cannot control the substantive notifications. The notifications amending the schedule would enjoy the same status as that of the rules under the Act. In the circumstances, we do not think that relying upon these circulars, the petitioners can claim the benefit in the intervening period, more so, when both dealers were not included under the earlier notification. The petitioners are not right in their contentions based on which the reliefs have been claimed. The relief claimed is that we should quash the Trade Circular dated 16.01.2018. That Trade Circular No.3T of 2018 is but clarifying the position resulting from issuance of these two notifications, namely, of August and October 2017. We cannot see how we can hold that the State Government intended to grant the benefit by circular to a taxable person registered under the MGST Act when he was not within the purview of the substantive law, MVAT. In other words, a taxable person registered under the MGST Act by virtue of the amendment to the MVAT Act went out of the purview of the MVAT Act. It is obvious from a reading of the subsequent notification dated 13th October 2017 that both the goods and taxable person under the MGST Act have been brought within the purview of Schedule B and Entry 16. In such circumstances by any interpretative process or by resorting to the exercise suggested by the petitioners, we cannot bring in the goods as defined under the MGST Act and the taxable person registered under the MGST Act in the ScheduleB as amended - The benefit will have to be granted only from the date from which it is extended, namely, w.e.f. 14.10.2017. Petitions are dismissed.
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