HC
upholds Tribunal, manufacture and supply of steel pipes for use
in execution of lump-sum engineering, procurement and
construction (EPC) contract for supply and laying of pipeline
qualified as ‘sale’ within definition
of Section 2(28) of Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969 (Act),
liable to tax; Rejects assessee’s plea that steel plates were
purchased from vendor enjoying exemption u/s 49(2) which were used by
assessee to manufacture steel pipes for further use in work contract
execution, therefore,
they are sold and hence, claim of re-sale deduction is
admissible; Relying upon SC decision in Pyare Lal Malhotra
and Arihant Tiles and Marbles Pvt. Ltd, states
that not only there is manufacture but also an activity which is something
beyond manufacture and which brings a new product into existence post
which the steel pipes are supplied, which amounts to 'sale'
within definition of Section 2(28); Accepts Revenue’s argument that, merely
because steel pipes were required to be used of a
particular brand/company and/or specification or because payment was directly
made to assessee’s vendor,
it cannot be said that there was a contract
for sale of steel plates, remarks that said stipulations are required to
ensure quality work for quality payment; Also, upholds penalty, stating that
there is no material which suggests that assessee had consulted any expert
or applied for determination order which could prompt him for a bona-fide
belief that it was not required to pay tax : Gujarat HC
No comments:
Post a Comment