Tax liability for motor vehicles remains with the purchaser unless prior intimation for exemption is provided, as per statutory provisions.

JUDGMENT :

Tarlok Singh Chauhan, J.

1. The instant petition has been filed for grant of following substantive reliefs:

(i) that the Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to issue a writ of mandamus whereby, the respondents may kindly be directed to exempt the petitioner from making paymentagainst all kind of taxes including Motor Vehicle Tax, Special Road Tax, Goods Tax, Token Tax, etc. in respect of vehicles purchased by the petitioner in the auction proceedings held on 27.6.2023 and is registered in the State of Himachal Pradesh.

(ii) that the Hon’ble Court may kindly further be pleased to issue the direction to the respondents to transfer the registration certificate of the vehicles purchased by the petitioner in the auction proceedings held on 27.6.2023 and is registered in the State of Himachal Pradesh.”

2. The facts necessary for adjudication of the instant petition are that the Department of Excise and Taxation during the course of search and seizure with regard to tax invasion had seized certain vehicles belonging to M/s Indian Techno Mac Company Ltd. and the same had been in its custody till November, 2023.

3. It was pursuant to the order passed by this Court on 3.4.2023 in Company Petition No. 13/2014, titled as Moly Corp. Minerals vs. M/s Indian Technomac Co. that respondent No.8 i.e. Joint Commissioner, State Taxes and Excise conducted an auction on 27.6.2023 of certain assets belonging to the Indian Technomac Company, which included certain vehicles.

4. The petitioner amongst others participated in the auction proceedings and was declared as successful bidder in respect of certain vehicles that had been put to auction through auction-cum-tender notice on the basis of “as is where is”, “as is what is” and “whatever there is.” Out of enormous vehicles purchased by the petitioner in auction proceedings, 10 vehicles were found to be registered in the State of Himachal Pradesh.

5. This Court confirmed the sale in favour of the petitioner, who was handed over the possession of the vehicles pursuant to possession certificate dated 27.10.2023 and sale certificate dated 2.11.2023.

6. The petitioner thereafter applied for transfer of the registration in his name but was informed that the tax in respect of the vehicles purchased by him was pending for the period w.e.f. 1.4.2015 to 31.12.2023 and unless the taxes are cleared by the petitioner, the registration certificates of those vehicles could not be transferred in the name of the petitioner, hence the instant petition.

7. It is vehemently argued by Mr. Rajiv Rai, Advocate, that the State under Section 14 of the Himachal Pradesh Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1972 (for short “the Act”) was competent to grant exemption where a registered owner or person having possession or control of motor vehicle has given previous intimation in writing to the taxation authority that the motor vehicle would not be used in any public place. He would further argue that in the instant case, vehicles in issue had been in possession, control and custody of the Department of Excise and Taxation and it was therefore duty cast upon them to have intimated the authorities accordingly.

8. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have also gone through the material placed on record.

9. It appears that the petitioner has misconstrued the provisions of the Act and cannot, therefore, be held entitled to exemption from payment of tax on motor vehicles purchased by him. This would be evident from perusal of Section 9 of the Act, which reads as under:-

LIABILITY TO PAY ARREARS OF TAX OF PERSON SUCCEEDING TO OWNERSHIP, POSSESSION OR CONTROL OF MOTOR VEHICLES:

(1) If the tax leviable in respect of any motor vehicle remains unpaid by any person liable for payment thereof and such person before having paid the tax has transferred the ownership of such vehicle or has ceased to be in possession or control of such the person to whom the ownership of this vehicle has been transferred or the person who has possession or