The importance of providing written reasons for decisions and the requirement for compliance with legal provisions and principles of natural justice.

JUDGMENT :

Om Prakash Shukla, J.

(1) Since common factual matrix arises in the above-captioned revisions and the parties are also the same, therefore, with the Sales/Trade Tax Revision No. -38 of 2023 and other connected revisions consent of the learned Counsel for the parties, the above captioned revisions were taken up for hearing together and are being disposed of by this common judgment and order.

(2) For the sake of convenience, the revisionist shall hereinafter be referred to as the assessee and the respondent shall hereinafter be referred to as the revenue.

(3) Sales/Trade Tax Revision Nos. 43, 44, 48, 52, 54 and 57 of 2023 are filed at the instance of the assessee, challenging the correctness of the common judgment and order dated 08.12.2016 passed by the Commercial Tax Tribunal, Lucknow (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’), whereby Second Appeal Nos. 110, 109, 120, 108, 112, 116 of 2014 preferred by the assessee for the year 2004-05, 2005-2006, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009, respectively, in respect of demand of Sales Tax and Value Added Tax have been dismissed.

(4) Sales/Trade Tax Revisions No. 47, 51 of 2023 are directed against the common order dated 08.12.2016 passed by the learned Tribunal, whereby Second Appeal Nos. 117, 121 of 2014 for the year 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 preferred by the assessee against the penalty order dated 30.08.2011 passed by the Adjudicating Officer, has been dismissed.

(5) Sales/Trade Tax Revisions No. 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 45, 46, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 58 and 59 of 2023 are directed against the common order dated 04.11.2022 passed by the learned Tribunal, whereby applications for recalling/rectification of the order dated 08.12.2016, bearing Nos. 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 of 2019, have been rejected.

(6) In nutshell, the facts of the case are that the assessee/revisionist is a Public Limited Company incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 and engaged in the business of manufacturing/trading of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides, execution of Railway Electrification Projects, Supply of Electrical Goods and execution of High Voltage Transmission Line projects for Government and Public Sector Agencies such as Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (Power Grid), State Electricity Board, Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited and Central Organization for Railway Electrification.

(7) In response to the tenders floated by the Power Grid Corporation India Ltd. (in short, ‘PGCIL’) and others, the assessee/revisionist had entered into two separate identifiable contracts and the same was communicated to the assessee by the PGCIL vide letter dated 14.11.2003, according to which, the assessee has been assigned contracts viz. (i) for supply of equipment and material for tower package for 400k V D/C Vishnuprayag-Muzaffarnagar Transmission Line having specification No. C-12904-L165-3 (hereinafter referred to as ‘goods’); and (ii) for transportation, insurance, delivery, survey, foundation, erection, stringing, testing and commissioning of the same transmission line.

(8) It is the case of the assessee that insofar as the first contract, PGCIL through various branches offices was to inspect and certify the goods for fitness at the place of vendors from whom the goods are procured by the assesee and on such certification in Material Inspection and Clearance Certificate, 75% of payment against supply of such goods is released. Undisputedly, the vendors, from whom the goods were procured in pursuance of the aforesaid contracts, were situated outside the State of Uttar Pradesh, hence the goods were dispatched from the place of venders from outside the State of Uttar Pradesh to the site within Uttar Pradesh. After commencement of transportation, the assessee transferred the title of the goods during transit to the Contractee by making endorsement on the bilites. Thereafter, the Contractee received the goods at site and subsequently, the assessee, acting as bailee of goods of the Cont