Ms Ads Spirits Private Limited And Anr.. & Anr. vs. The Commissioner Of Trade And Tax Department & Anr.

Held

The Court held that no useful purpose would be served by keeping the petition pending. Consequently, the Court directed Respondent No. 2 to allow the amendment sought by the petitioner in its return for Assessment Year 2017-18. However, this direction was made subject to the outcome of the Civil Appeals pending before the Supreme Court, and the direction would abide by the Supreme Court's final decision. The Court did not explicitly decide on the legality of the refusal to issue Form F but provided a conditional relief based on the pending Supreme Court matters. The issue of whether the assessing authority can refuse to issue Form F was implicitly addressed by allowing the amendment, albeit conditionally.

Facts

The petitioners, MS ADS SPIRITS PRIVATE LIMITED AND ANR., filed a writ petition challenging an order dated July 1, 2020, by Respondent No. 2, which rejected their application for rectification of Form F for the Assessment Year 2017-18. The petitioners sought a direction to issue Form F for May 2017 to March 2018 and to prohibit coercive actions. They had inadvertently mentioned their entire stock as procured from Haryana when it was from both Punjab and Haryana, leading to an incorrect aggregate Form F. They requested correction on February 19, 2020. A previous writ petition (WP(C) No. 874 of 2020) challenging the rejection was dismissed by the Supreme Court on September 7, 2020, with liberty to pursue other remedies.

Key Issues

1. Whether the assessing authority can refuse to issue Form 'F' when the petitioner is otherwise entitled to it, considering there is no specific provision in the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, or Central Sales Tax (Delhi) Rules, 2005, for such refusal? (Question of law) Petitioner's Contention: The petitioner argued that the assessing authority has no legal provision to refuse the issuance of Form 'F', making the order arbitrary and liable for quashing. They relied on this Court's decision in M/s. Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. v. Commissioner DT&T & Anr., W.P. (C) No. 8272/2015. Respondent's Contention: The respondent pointed out that the decision in M/s. Ingram Micro India Pvt. Ltd. is under challenge before the Supreme Court. They further submitted that similar decisions of this Court have been appealed, and the Supreme Court has stayed their operation. In similar matters, this Court has either adjourned cases or allowed petitions but suspended relief pending the Supreme Court's decision on the civil appeals.