AI Structured Summary
Not yet generated for this judgment
Judgment
R. Jayasimha Babu, J.—The issue raised in these petitions is one which is similar to the one considered in W.A. No. 458 of 1997 decided
on October 3, 2001. It was held therein that mere filing of form alone to claim exemption u/s 5(3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 would not
suffice and that, it was open to the assessing officer, to conduct a detailed enquiry to find out whether particulars contained in form are true or not.
In these cases, in the order of assessments, the assessing officer declined to accept the assessees'' claim based solely on form H. It was
observed by him that in the absence of bill of lading, the agreement, or an order of foreign buyer and the certificate of export as claimed, claim for
exemption would not be granted.
Counsel says that he now has with him all those documents, but those documents were not available for production at the time of the
assessment, and that the assessees had been under the bona fide belief that the production of form H by itself would suffice.
As the petitioners have been pursuing the remedy here in this Court bona fide, it is in the interest of justice that the petitioners be permitted to
prefer an appeal against that assessment order, so that, in that appeal, the documents which the assessing officer had considered necessary for
grant of the exemption could be produced before the appellate authority, and, if the same are found to be in order, appropriate relief, be granted to
the petitioners.
The appellate authority is directed to consider the assessees'' claim that the sale was covered by Section 5(3) of the Act, and consider the
documents to be produced by the assessees along with the appeals, if the appeals are filed within ten days from today. The petitioners shall
conform to all other requirements so far as filing of that appeal is concerned. It will be open to the appellate authority to scrutinise those documents
which the petitioners may file along with the appeal, and come to its own conclusion as to whether those documents are acceptable and whether on
the basis of those documents, the relief sought by the petitioners can be granted.
6.The writ petitions are disposed of accordingly.