Shree Raipur Cement Plant vs. State Of Chhattisgarh

Held

The Court held that the petitioner is entitled to the issuance of C-Forms for the inter-State purchase and sale of high-speed diesel. The Court reasoned that the definition of 'goods' under Section 2(d) of the CST Act was amended prior to the CGST Act's commencement to include high-speed diesel. Furthermore, Section 9(2) of the CGST Act explicitly excludes high-speed diesel from GST levy unless recommended by the GST Council and notified by the Central Government, which had not occurred. The Court found that the petitioner's CST registration certificate remains valid for goods defined under the amended Section 2(d) of the CST Act, including high-speed diesel, despite migration to the GST regime. The argument that the petitioner did not avail C-Forms for HSD prior to July 1, 2017, was rejected as the law does not bar such entitlement. The Court directed the respondents to issue C-Forms to the petitioner and rectify their website to entertain the online application. The Court also clarified that the CST registration would be limited to goods defined in Section 2(d) of the CST Act.

Facts

The petitioner, Shree Raipur Cement Plant, a unit of Shree Cement Limited, filed a writ petition challenging the denial of C-Forms for the purchase of high-speed diesel (HSD) for use in manufacturing cement. The petitioner was registered under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (CST Act) and Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005, and had been issued C-Forms until June 30, 2017. With the introduction of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) from July 1, 2017, the petitioner migrated to the GST regime. However, the respondent authorities refused to issue C-Forms, citing an error message indicating that the invoice date should be before July 1, 2017. The petitioner argued that HSD was specifically excluded from the purview of the CGST Act by Section 9(2) and that its CST registration remained valid for such goods.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to be issued C-Forms under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, read with the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, in respect of high-speed diesel purchased in the course of inter-State trade and used in manufacturing, after the promulgation of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's arguments: The petitioner contended that its CST registration certificate is valid and has not been amended or cancelled. It argued that the definition of 'goods' under Section 2(d) of the CST Act was amended to include High Speed Diesel, and Section 9(2) of the CGST Act excludes HSD from GST as the GST Council has not recommended its inclusion. Therefore, the petitioner is entitled to C-Forms under Section 8(3)(b) of the CST Act. The migration to GST does not automatically cancel its CST registration for goods excluded from GST. Respondents' arguments: The State respondents argued that the petitioner migrated to the GST regime, and by virtue of Section 139 of the CGST Act, its previous registration under the CST Act, 1956, is no longer valid. Consequently, the petitioner is not entitled to C-Forms as they are issued only to registered dealers under the CST Act. They also argued that since the petitioner did not avail C-Forms for HSD before July 1, 2017, it cannot do so now.