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2017 (10) TMI 884 - PATNA HIGH COURTValuation - soft coke/ special smokeless fuel - Assessing Officer imposed tax on the petitioner under the VAT Act by treating the price of coal to be of ₹ 7000/- per Metric Ton instead of assessing the tax based on the actual sale price and the price of coal indicated in the Sale order @ ₹ 1740/- per M.T. - Held that: - if the transporter or the trader carries the identified goods at lesser price than the quoted minimum price, i.e. as indicated in the circular then an enquiry is conducted and if authenticity of rate claimed by the assessee is established then the price or rate claimed by the assessee can be accepted for imposition of duty/tax - In this case, if we go through the assessment order in question we find that merely because the price quoted in the invoice and the document produced by the assessee were lesser than the minimum price fixed in the circular the amount of excess tax was imposed. When the evidence as is available on record shows that the coal is purchased @ 1740 per M.T. merely because of a circular issued by the State of Bihar fixing the minimum price of certain commodity, which is not the foundation price or the price of the commodities but is only a price indicated on the basis of some exercise done to stop evasion of duty, in the absence of any material or cogent evidence available to show that the petitioner has tried to evade duty by under-pricing the price of coal the State Government cannot act in an arbitrary manner and impose duty based on such a circular. The circular may be used for the purpose of verification and curtailing evasion of duty and for checking under-valuation of goods in the check-post but merely on the basis of the circular without there being any specific evidence to show under price and ignoring the material available on record any action done for imposing tax in duty is unsustainable. Petition allowed - decided in favor of petitioner.
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