TMI Blog2017 (9) TMI 1421X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... re the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The Appellate Authority has proceeded, by stating that as per sub-rule (7) of Rule 12 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, C-Form Declarations ought to have been submitted within June' 2007. As per the proviso to Rule 12(7) of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, if the prescribed authority is satisfied that the person concerned was prevented by sufficient cause from furnishing such declaration or certificate with in the aforesaid time, that authority may allow such declaration or certificate to be furnished within such further time as that authority may permit. Whether the appellant had acted diligently to obtain the Form-C Declarations, from their purchasers, for production before the authorities? - Held that: - Though in the case in hand, the department has contended that sufficient cause was not shown for the production of C-Form declaration, before the assessing officer and that no request was made for production of the same, accepting the contention of the assessee therein that the Appellate Authority/Tribunal, has powers to receive documents, in particular, Form-C declarations ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 054/- towards tax holiday period, for the said assessment year 2006-2007, under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The petitioner/appellant received the Assessment Order, dated 13.5.2014, confirming the tax liability to an extent of ₹ 1,31,40,000/- @ 10%. 4. Being aggrieved by the same, the assessee preferred an appeal, before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner (CT), Commercial Taxes Department, Puducherry, contending inter alia, (i) that the Commercial Tax Officer, Karaikal, has erred in imposing a higher rate of tax, at the rate of 10%, as against the concessional rate of 4% for the turnover, due to non-production of Form-C declaration; (ii) that the Commercial Tax Officer, Karaikal, ought to have granted further time, for production of C Form declaration and the non-submission of the said form, is only due non-availability of the time. (iii) that the Commercial Tax Officer, ought to have granted further time for production of declaration form, since the appellant could not produce the same, due to factors beyond its control. (iv) that the Commercial Tax Officer, Karaikal, ought to have appreciated that the decisions of this Court in State of Tamil N ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... held as follows: Besides, such power as the appellate authority is empowered to exercise in relation to an assessment under appeal, has got to be exercised only in the same manner and subject to the same conditions, if any, which govern the exercise of the power of assessment by the assessing authority in the first instance. It follows, therefore, that whatever discretion is conferred on the assessing authority for purposes of assessment must so be regarded, as a matter of statutory construction, to have been conferred on the appellate authority even without the concerned statutory provision expressly naming the appellate authority in that behalf. (Pp.No.383 of 51 STC 381) 12. Knowing well that now it is settled law that the declaration forms can be produced at the appeal stage but a blanket refusal to accept the declaration form-C produced after completion of assessment has been made not for reason that all the pending forms were not produced, but because no reason was furnished which prevented them to produce the same before the assessing authority at the time of assessment. 13. To justify this decision, it will be appropriate to quote the guidance issued in the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt has submitted that after receiving the assessment order, dated 13.05.2014, on 14.05.2016, the company had received two C-Forms, viz., (i) C-Form, bearing No.0239154, dated 30.05.2014 for a taxable turnover of ₹ 74,70,000/-, for the period from 07.10.2006 to 30.12.2006 and (ii) C-Form, bearing No.0239155, dated 30.05.2014, for a taxable turnover of of ₹ 32,22,000/-, for the period from 31.08.2006 to 26.09.2006, from their customer, Tvl.Ejaz.Traders, Neyveli and that the company has submitted the same to the assessing authority on 06.06.2014 and sought for a revised assessment order. Though the taxable turnover, after submitting the C-forms, was reduced from ₹ 1,31,40,000/- to ₹ 24,44,800/-, the appellant had opted to contest the entire turnover of ₹ 1,31,40,000/-. 9. During the personal hearing given to the appellant on 16.09.2014, the authorised representative of the appellant had submitted the details of C- Forms submitted on 06.06.2014 and requested for appropriate relief. According to the petitioner, the appellate authority has passed an order, dated 16.09.2014, without considering the sufficient cause, shown by the appellant and erred in conc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iled to produce the same, for availing the concessional rates of tax. After considering the rival submissions, at Paragraphs 9 and 10, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Puducherry, in Tax Appeal No.4 of 2014, dated 24.03.2015, ordered as hereunder: 9. It was brought to the notice of this Court that the appellant took strenuous steps in getting the Form-C Declaration from its purchaser by sending letters and legal notice, but its all only after passing the order, dated 13.05.2014, by the assessing officer. Even the appellants seems to have given a representation on 28.07.2014, before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner-CT praying one month time to produce the balance C-Form Declaration to conclude the appeal by citing the decision of the Hon'ble Madras High Court (Full Bench) reported in (51) STC 381 [State of Tamil Nadu v. Arul Murugan]. On a perusal of the said decision, it is found that where the assessee seeks to file C Forms beyond the stage of assessment, the relative power which the concerned authority should invoke the power defined under the provision of Section 8(4) and not the power defined in the proviso to rule 12(7). The 1st appellate authority having conside ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... appellant. Had the appellant taken timely steps for getting C-Forms before the assessment date, the assessment officer would have considered the request of the appellant, whereas only after passing the assessment order, the appellant took effective steps and obtained C-Forms which both assessment officer as well as the 1st appellate authority felt as highly belated and accordingly turned down to the request of the appellant and therefore, there is no strange in upholding the order of the assessment officer by the respondent authority. Therefore this court feels that the order passed by the respondent authority in Appeal No.7/CST/2014-15, dated 16.9.2014 does not call for any interference by this court. 10. In the result, the appeal is dismissed. The impugned Order, dated 16.9.2014 passed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner (CT), Commercial Taxes Department, Pondicherry in Appeal No.7/CST/2014-15 is hereby confirmed. Considering the facts and circumstances there shall be no order as to costs. 13. Being aggrieved by the same, the instant Tax Case Revision has been filed, on the following questions of law, 1. Whether; on the facts and circumstances of the case and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Rule 11 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, registered under section 7 of the Act, shall submit a return of his transactions in the course of interstate trade or commerce or in the course of export of the goods out of the Territory of India in Form 1 together with the connected declaration form or duplicate of such form where the original has been lost and the certificates in Forms D, E-I and E-II so as to reach the assessing authority on or before the 25th of each month showing the turnover for the preceding month and the amount or amounts collected by way of tax together with a challan or a crossed cheque in favour of the assessing authority for the payment of tax due thereon under the Act. Central Sales Tax Act, 1956: 8(4). The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to any sale in the course of inter-State trade or commerce unless the dealer selling the goods furnishes to the prescribed authority in the prescribed manner a declaration duly filled and signed by the registered dealer to whom the goods are sold containing the prescribed particulars in a prescribed form obtained from the prescribed authority: Provided that the dec ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . During the period August 2006 to March 2007, scrap was sold to you for a total consideration of ₹ 1,36,65,600/-, the details of which are set out in the tabulated sheet annexed to this notice. You had requested them to make supplies at the concessional rate of sales tax based on the assurance that you would provide the Form C for the supplies. Pursuant to your promise to provide Form C, my client paid Sales Tax at the rate of 4% and supplied the goods. Despite many reminders, you did not provide the Form C to them. 3. My client states that since they had not received the C Forms, officers of my client visited your office on 15th and 18th April 2013 and requested that the C Forms be issued. During the meeting, you asked my client to obtain clearance from the Commercial Taxes Officer, Virudhachalam and the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Virudhachalam, for issuing the C Forms. Even though, this was not the responsibility of my client, they met the above mentioned officers of the sales tax Department and sought their clearance to enable you to issue the C Forms, which was communicated to you by telephone on 13th May 2013. Thereafter, my client also issued a letter, d ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... necessarily along with returns. On an application being made before the Assessing Officer the exemption can be granted. The object of the Rule is to ensure that the assessee is not denied a benefit which is available to it under law on a technical plea. The Assessing Officer is empowered to grant time. That means that the provisions requiring filing of declaration forms along with the return is a directory provision and not a mandatory provision. In a given case even the declaration forms can be filed before the appellate authority as an appeal is continuation of the assessment proceedings. In a given case, if the appellate authority is satisfied that assessee was prevented by reasonable and sufficient cause which dis-enabled him to file the forms in time, it can be accepted. It can also be accepted as additional evidence in support of the claim for deduction. In the instant case, respondent No.1-company made a specific request before the revisional authority which was turned down. Therefore, the question of any non-compliance with the relevant statutes does not arise. It was noted by this Court in Sahney Steel and and Press Works Ltd., v. Commercial Tax Officer [1985] 4 SCC 173 th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... In M/s.K.S.B.Pumps Ltd., v. State of Tamil Nadu [Tax Case (Revision) No.87 of 2015, dated 30.09.2015], C-Form declaration to an extent of ₹ 19,98,976/-, was not submitted, for the assessment year 2000-01, within five years from the date of the original assessment order, before the Assessing Officer, as per the circular of the Commissioner. Higher rate of tax was imposed. Being aggrieved by the same, an appeal was filed. Pending appeal, the assessee submitted Form C declaration for a turnover of ₹ 40.28 Lakhs, before the Assessing Officer, who accepted the same, and passed a revised order, dated 29.9.2005. Taking note of the same, the first Appellate Authority passed an order, partly allowing the claim and remanding the matter to the Original Authority. The assessee filed a second appeal before the Tamil Nadu Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal and by the time, the entire disputed tax had been paid by the assessee. During the pendency of the second appeal, the assessee obtained Form-C declarations for the balance turnover and offered to produce the same. But the learned counsel for the assessee failed to appear before the Tribunal, resulting in dismissal of the appeal. Applica ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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