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AFR

HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR

WRIT PETITION (T) NO. 128 OF 2015

M/s Ultratech Cement Limited, a Company duly incorporated under the

Companies Act, 1956, having its Registered Office at B-Wing, Ahura Centre,

2nd Floor, Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri- East, Mumbai- 400093 and Office

at Ravinagar, Raipur 492001 (C.G.), through its Authorized Signatory of the

Company Shri Anil Purohit, S/o Shri Suraj Prakash Purohit, aged about 32

years, resident of Hirmi Cement Works (Township), Hirmi, District

Balodabazar-Bhatapara (C.G.)

… Petitioner

versus

1.

State of Chhattisgarh, through Secretary, Department of Commercial

Taxes, Mantralaya Bhavan, Raipur (C.G.)

2.

Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Vanijyik Kar Bhavan, Civil Lines,

Raipur (C.G.)

3.

Additional Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Raipur (C.G.)

4.

Divisional Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Tax, Raipur (C.G.)

… Respondents

For Petitioner

:

Mrs. Smiti Sharma, Advocate.

For Respondents

:

Mr. Rahul Jha, Govt. Advocate.

Hon’ble Shri Justice P. Sam Koshy

C A V Order

Reserved on : 18.11.2022

Pronounced on : 07.12.2022

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.

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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

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(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 th