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2012 (5) TMI 152 - HC - VAT and Sales TaxMeaning and Scope of the term 'Actually paid' - Constitutional validity of Section 48(5) of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 (MVAT Act, 2002) - Petitioner seeks that the words “actually paid” be read down to mean “ought to have been paid” - Claim of set off and refund - electronic filing of return - held that:- In the context in which the words “actually paid” are used in the MVAT Act, “actually paid” means what has been as a matter of fact deposited in the treasury. Hence, in the context of the provisions of Section 48(5), we cannot accept the contention of the Petitioner that “actually paid .. in the government treasury” means or should be read to mean what tax ought to have been deposited but has not actually been deposited in the treasury. To accept the submission would be to rewrite the legislative provision. Moreover, the concept of a set off presupposes that tax has been paid in respect of the goods in respect of which a set off is claimed. To allow a set off though the tax has not been paid actually would be to defeat the legitimate interests of the Revenue. The constitutionality of the provision of Section 48(5) upheld. Similarly Section 51(7) which requires an application for refund and specifies the period within which an application can be made, cannot be assailed as being invalid. Regulating the process of refunds is as much within the province of a legitimate tax enactment and the legislature is within its power in requiring a refund to be applied for within a reasonable period. The right to obtain a set off is a right conferred by statute and the legislature while recognizing an entitlement to a set off in certain circumstances is lawfully entitled to prescribe the conditions subject to which a set off can be obtained. If the legislature, as in the present case, prescribes that a set off should be granted only to the extent to which tax has been deposited in the treasury on the purchase of goods, it is within a reasonable exercise of its legislative power in so mandating. This does not offend Article 14. A plea of hardship cannot result in the invalidation of a statutory provision in a fiscal enactment which is otherwise lawful.
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