ORDER :

SONIA GOKANI, J.

1. Rule, returnable forthwith. Learned AGP, Mr.Soham Joshi waives service of notice of Rule for and on behalf of the respondent-State.

2. By way of the present petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner prays for quashing and setting aside the order dated 11.02.2021 passed by the Gujarat Value Added Tax Tribunal (‘the VAT Tribunal’ hereinafter) in Second Appeal No.35 of 2020 in the following factual background:

1.1 The petitioner is a private limited company engaged in the business of trading in petrochemicals, which is registered under the VAT Act, 2003 as well as Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The petitioner enters into the high seas sale agreement with buyers and pursuant to such agreements, the bills of lading are endorsed in favour of the buyers. Such transactions being sales by transfer of document of title to the goods before crossing of customs frontiers qualify as sales in the course of import under Section 5(2) of the CST Act. The petitioner did not pay tax on such transactions and claimed the transactions to be sales in the course of import in the return filed under the VAT Act and CST Act.

1.2 The Assessing Officer allowed