Y.P. Spices P Ltd v. Commissioner of Trade Taxes & Anr.

1. This hearing has been done through hybrid mode.

2. The present petition has been filed by the Petitioner- M/s Y.P Spices (P) Ltd. under Article 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, inter alia, seeking issuance of an appropriate writ directing the Respondent to issue Form ‘F’ to the Petitioner in respect of the goods transferred under interstate trade and commerce under Section 6A of the Central Sales Tax Act,

1956.

3. The present case was adjourned sine die vide order dated 3rd May, 2017 which reads as under: “3. Mr. Siddhartha Shankar points out that on 11th April, 2017 this Court had by relying on the aforementioned decision in Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. V. Commissioner, Department of Trade & Taxes (supra) passed an order in a batch of writ petitions of which the lead petition was W.P.(C) No. 1223/2017 titled Rexcin Pharmaceuticals Private Limited v. Commissioner, Value Added Tax, Against the said order, the DVAT Department filed SLP (C) No. 13928/2017 in the Supreme Court in respect of one of those Petitioners. On C May, 2017, the Supreme Court has, while granting leave to appeal, directed a stay of the said order. The said SLP has been directed to be listed along with Civil Appeal No.4573/2017 in the month of July, 2017.

4. In that view of the matter, this Court will have to await the final judgment of the Supreme Court in SLP (C) NO. 13928/2017.”

4. Ld. Counsel for the parties submits that the appeal being C.A. NO. 004573/2017 titled ‘Commissioner Department of Trade and Taxes v. Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd.’ filed by the Department assailing the judgment dated 1st February passed by a Co-ordinate bench of this Court in W.P. (C) 8272/2015 titled ‘Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner Department of Trade and Taxes & Anr.’ is still pending in the Supreme Court.

5. Ld. Counsel for the parties have relied upon certain other decisions of the Co-ordinate Bench including the decision in W.P. (C) 7411/2020 titled GSP Power System Pvt. Ltd. vs. Commissioner of Goods and Services Tax Department of Trade and Taxes & Anr.. The said matter was also a similar matter decided while the appeal was pending in the Supreme Court against Ingram Micro (Supra). The operative portion of the said decision reads as under:

2. Present writ petition has been filed challenging the rejection by respondent authorities of petitioner's request for correction of the return filed for first quarter of Year 2017-18 and refusal to give statutory forms under Central Sales Tax (Delhi) Rules.

3. Petitioner further seeks a direction to the respondent authorities to allow the petitioner's revision of returns for the year 2017-18 as per the provisions of DVAT Act and Rules.

4. Learned counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner failed to mention the details of Inter-State branch transfers for the first quarter of Year 2017-18 in the Form 2A uploaded on the DVAT website while filing his returns. He further states that petitioner requested the respondent no.2 to grant permission to revise the aforesaid returns but the said request was rejected.

5. He submits that action of the respondent no.2 of not allowing revision of details of requirement of form 'F', is perverse in law as it is contrary to the provisions of the DVAT Act and Central Sales Tax (Delhi) Rules which permit issuance of forms.

6. He relies upon the judgment of this Court in WP(C) No.8709/2018 whereby this Court had directed the respondent to release the concerned form 'F' within two weeks. He, however, points out that SLP preferred. against the said judgment has been admitted and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.

7. On the other hand, Mr. Satyakam, learned Additional Standing counsel for the respondents submits that the decision of this Court in M/s Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner DT&T & Anr., W.P. (C No. 8272/2015 is under challenge before the Supreme Court in Civil Appeal NO. 4573/2017 and the Supreme Court has granted leave in the said matter vide order dated 27th March, 2017. He also points out that this Court rendered decisions in several similar cases, including W.P. (C) No. 2633/2017, M/s. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. v. Commissioner, VAT decided on 11th April, 2017, which have been appealed against in the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court has stayed the operation of the judgment of this Court.

8. Mr. Satyakam points out that in the light of the interim orders passed by the Supreme Court, while deciding another writ petition i.e. Ingram Micro India Ltd. v. Commissioner, Department of Trade and Taxes and Anr., W.P. (C) NO. 8435/2018, decided on 04th December, 2018, this Court issued directions for issuance of segregated and separate ‘C' Forms. However, the directions issued by this Court were suspended till the Civil Appeals before the Supreme Court were pending.

9. Same is the position in the decision of this Court in Allied Automation Engineering Services Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner of Trade and Taxes, W.P. (C) No. 9474/2018 decided on 10th September, 2018, in M/s. Samsung C&T Pvt. Ltd. v. The Commissioner, Trade & Taxes, & Anr., W.P. (C) NO. 4092/2017 decided on 15th February, 2019, in E.I. Dupont India Private Limited v. Commissioner, VAT, Delhi & Anr, C.M. No. 47356/2018 in W.P. (C) No. 4952/2017 decided on 27th February, 2019 and C G Power And Industrial Solutions Limited vs Department of Trade and Taxes & Ors., W.P. (C) No. 3024/2019 decided on 15th January, 2020.