ORDER :

1. Challenge in the present Writ Petition is to the Order dated 30.5.2015 (Annexure P-6) whereby the Revisional Authority i.e. the Additional Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Raipur in Revision Case No.29/R/2015- Regional under Section 49(1) of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (for short, “the VAT Act”) has affirmed the Order dated 22.12.2014 (Annexure P-5) passed in Case No.104/2010-Regional by the Assessing Officer i.e. the Divisional Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Division-I, Raipur.

2. The issue involved in the instant case is the levy of Value Added Tax (for short, “VAT”) on the lease charges paid by the Railways Department to the Petitioner Company. The levy of tax was under Section 2(s)(vi) of the VAT Act for the assessment year 2009-10. The assessment for the year 2009-10 was completed on 22.12.2014. In the course of assessment, the Assessing Officer assessed the income of Rs.29,20,347/- as lease rent obtained by the Assessee from the Railways Department. Treating the said receipt of lease rent by the Petitioner Company from the Railways Department as deemed sale, tax was assessed on the above mentioned amount at the rate of 18% which came to around Rs.4,08,849/-.

3. This Court on an earlier occasion had dismissed the present Writ Petition vide Order dated 5.12.2017. However, subsequently, the Writ Petition was reviewed and vide Order dated 4.11.2022, the Review Petition was allowed by this Court and the matter has again come for hearing and is now being decided on merits by this Order.

4. Crux of the matter in brief is that the Indian Railways had floated a Scheme known as “Own Your Wagon Scheme” to which the Petitioner Company expressed their interest in purchasing Wagons and for which necessary proposal was put forth by them. The proposal was approved by the Railways Board. In respect of the said approval of the proposal put forth by the Petitioner Company, two Contracts under the “Own Your Wagon Scheme” were entered into between the President of India through the Chief Marketing and Sales Manager, South Eastern Railways and the Petitioner Company as it then was known as “M/s Larsen & Turbo Limited”.

5. The said Contracts were signed in Kolkata in the year 1996. As per the Contracts, the Wagons proposed to be purchased by the Petitioner Company were to be manufactured by two different Companies approved by the Ministry of Railways, Government of India, namely – M/s Texmaco Limited, Kolkata (West Bengal) and M/s CIMMCO Birla Limited, Bharatpur (Rajasthan). As per the Contract/Agreement, the Wagons manufactured for and on behalf of the Petitioner Company were directly/straightaway handed over to the Railway Authorities from where they were manufactured. M/s CIMMCO Birla Limited handed over their manufactured Wagons to the Station Superintendent, Bharatpur Railway Station (Western Railways). As regards the Wagons manufactured at M/s Texmaco Limited, the same were handed over to the Station Master, Belgharia Railway Station (West Bengal) under the then South Eastern Railways.

6. After the Wagons were manufactured and handed over to the Indian Railways at Bharapur (Rajasthan) and Belgharia (West Bengal), the Petitioner Company started getting lease rent from the Railways. It is the tax i.e. VAT on the said lease rent for the assessment year 2009-10 for which the lease rent on Rs.29,20,347/- at the rate of 18% which came to Rs.4,08,849/- which was assessed by the Assessing Officer treating it to be the lease rent obtained for transfer of right to use under Section 2(s)(vi) of the VAT Act.

7. Learned Counsel for Petitioner submits that the said assessment of tax by the State Authorities is per se bad, for the reason that firstly the Agreement was executed at a place outside the territories of the State of Chhattisgarh, secondly, the Wagons purchased by the Petitioner Company also were not delivered or stationed within the territories of the State of Chhattisgarh. Thus, it was the contention of learned Counsel