UPVAT | Exemption/Concession Form Not Produced During Assessment Due To Unavoidable Circumstances, Can Be Considered By Tribunal: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court has held that if a form through which exemption/concession has been claimed under the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 could not be produced at the time of assessment due to unavoidable circumstances, the same can be produced before the Tribunal. The Tribunal is bound to consider it before passing any order.

The bench comprising of Justice Piyush Agrawal held,

“The transaction already claimed by the applicant as exempt/concession rate of tax in its hand, the form, which could not be furnished due to unavoidable circumstances, the form could be considered by the Tribunal.”

Factual Background

Revisionist was registered under the UP VAT Act and the Central Sales Tax Act. Revisionist made inter-State stock transfer, against which Forms F, E-1 and C were issued, out of which Forms F & E-1 are to be collected from the branch or dealers situated outside the State of U.P. An assessment order was passed imposing tax of Rs. 1,59,919/- on the revisionist.

Revisionist contended that despite best efforts, at time of passing the order assessment order, the said forms could not be produced and were submitted before the authorities at the appellate stage. Reliance was placed on judgement of the Allahabad High Court in Hindon River Mills Limited Vs. CTT to assert that Tribunal failed to consider that the revisionist has filed Form E-1 & C along with the application as additional evidence.

It was contended that the appeals filed by the revisionist were rejected without deciding the application for additional evidence. Further, tt was argued that the Tribunal erred in ignoring the settled legal position that Forms E-1 & C can be filed at the appellate forum and the benefit of the same should be given on late filing if sufficient cause is shown.

Per Contra, Respondent submitted that since the revisionist had failed to submit the forms as prescribed in law, proceedings had been rightly initiated against him.

High Court Verdict

The Court observed that in case of inter-State transaction, if forms submitted by the revisionist are not accepted, he will be compelled to pay higher rate of tax.

Relying on an identical case of Hindon River Mills Limited, the Court held that the form through which exemption/concession has been claimed by the revisionist for a transaction, which could not be produced at the time of passing the assessment order due to unavoidable circumstances, could be considered by the Tribunal at the stage of appeal.

“In the peculiar facts & circumstances of the case, when the transaction has already been made and covered by the requisite forms, the applicant, if due to unavoidable circumstances, could not obtain the forms and had produced the same upto the state of Tribunal, even in the subsequent stage, providing the claim has already been made for the same, the form should be accepted.”

The Court further took support of the decision of the Allahabad High Court in M/s Dhan Prakash Cane Crushers Vs. Commissioner of Sales Tax wherein the forms produced before the revisional court were accepted and the case was remanded back to the Tribunal for fresh consideration.

Accordingly, the Court directed the Tribunal to accept the forms submitted by the revisionist and decide the issue in accordance with law.

Case Title: M/S Sah Agencies Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner, Commercial Tax U.P. 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 411 [SALES/TRADE TAX REVISION No. - 139 of 2022]

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (AB) 411

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