Purwar Bandhu Etc. Etc vs. The State Of Uttar Pradesh Thr. Secretary Tax And Registration

ITEM NO.21+64 COURT NO.8 SECTION III S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Civil)....../2012 CC 6742/2012 (From the judgement and order dated 23/12/2011 in WPT No.152/2009, of The HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD) VARDHAMAN MOTORS Petitioner(s) VERSUS STATE OF UP AND ORS Respondent(s) (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) WITH SLP(C) NO. 10388 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing O.T., permission to place addl documents on recored, prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 10401-10405 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, exemption from filing O.T., prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 10422-10423 of 2012 (With prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 10733 of 2012 (With prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 10850 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, exemption from filing O.T., prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 11612-11613 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 12091 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 12590-12598 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, exemption from filing O.T., prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 12791 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, exemption from filing O.T., prayer for interim relief and office report) 2 SLP(C) NO. 12794-12795 of 2012 (With prayer for interim relief and office report) S.L.P.(C)...CC NO. 6790 of 2012 (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) S.L.P.(C)...CC NO. 6931 of 2012 (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) S.L.P.(C)...CC NO. 7366 of 2012 (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) S.L.P.(C)...CC NO. 7370 of 2012 (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) S.L.P.(C)...CC NO. 7379-7381 of 2012 (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) S.L.P.(C)...CC NO. 7411 of 2012 (With appln(s) for c/delay in filing SLP and office report) S.L.P.(C) NO. 13304 of 2012

îL 1

(With appln(s) for exemption from filing O.T. and prayer for interim relief and office report) S.L.P.(C) NO. 13337 of 2012 (With office report) SLP(C) NO. 8743 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, prayer for interim relief and office report) SLP(C) NO. 9699-9701 of 2012 (With appln(s) for exemption from filing c/c of the impugned judgment, prayer for interim relief and office report) Date: 23/04/2012 These Petitions were called on for hearing today. CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE H.L. DATTU HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRAMAULI KR. PRASAD For Petitioner(s) Mr. Vivek Gupta,Adv. Mr. Saket Agarwal, Adv. Mr. Vipin Kr. Sharma, Adv. SLP(C) 9699/12 Mr. Dinesh Kumar Garg, Adv. Ms. Meha Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Garg, Adv. Mr. Sanjeev Tayal, Adv. SLP(C) 10388/2012 Ms. Garima Kapoor, Adv. Mr. Ejaz Maqbool, Adv. Ms. Sakshi Banga, Adv. SLP(C) 10733/12 Mr. H.A. Ahmadi, Adv. Ms. Vaishnavi, Adv. Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Adv. 3 SLP(C) 11612-13/12 Mr. Avijit Bhushan, Adv. Ms. Laxmibai Leitanthem, Adv. Ms. N.Annapoorani, Adv. SLP(C)12794-95/12 Mr. Rajiv Tyagi, Adv. Mr. Kiran Singh, Adv. Ms. Sakshi Manchanda, Adv. SLP(C) 10850/12, Mr. Dhruv Agarwal, Sr. Adv. 10401-05/12, Mr. Manoj Saxena, Adv. 12590-98/12 Mr. Shwetan K. Sailakwal, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Agarwal, Adv. For Mr. Vipin Kumar Jai, Adv. SLP(C) 12791/12 Mr. Amit Kumar, Adv. Mr. Amit Anand Tiwari, Adv. Mr. Vivek Gupta, Adv. Mr. Garvesh Kabra, Adv. Ms. Pooja Kabra, Adv. Mrs. N. Kabra, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Jaju, Adv. SLP(C) 8743/12 Mr. Kavin Gulati, Adv. Mr. Adarsh Upadhyay, Adv. Ms. Rasmi Singh, Adv. Mr Pavanshree Agrawal, Adv. Mr. Puneet Dutt Tyagi, Adv. SLP(C) 13304/12 Mr. Rakesh Garg, Adv. Mr. A.G. Garg, Adv.

Mr. Pamarty Venkataramana, Adv. Ms. Shweta Garg, Adv. For Respondent(s) Mr. Aarohi Bhalla, Adv. Mr. Gunnam Venkateswara Rao, Adv. Mr. Aviral Shukla, Adv. UPON hearing counsel the Court made the following O R D E R Application for exemption from filing O.T. is allowed. Delay condoned. Notice to the respondents. Learned counsel appears and accepts notice on behalf of 4 all the respondents in all the matters. Leave granted. In these Civil Appeals, the appellants and others are questioning the correctness or otherwise of the common judgment and order passed by the High Court of Judicature of Allahabad in Writ Petition (Tax) No. 152 of 2009 dated 23.12.2011. In the Writ Petitions filed, the appellants and others had questioned the constitutional validity of the U.P. Tax on Entry of Goods Into Local Areas Act, 2007 ('U.P.Act, 2007' for short). We have heard learned counsel for the parties on the prayer made for grant of interim relief and also perused the records. We are not inclined to grant the blanket stay order as prayed for by the appellants. Accordingly, we pass the following order: The operation of the impugned judgment and order is stayed subject to the appellants in each case depositing 50% of the accrued tax liability/arrears under the U.P.Act, 2007 and furnish bank guarantee for the balance amount within four weeks from today. It goes without saying, that the aforesaid deposit shall be made after adjusting the amount(s) paid or deposited during the pendency of the Writ Petitions before the High Court. The appellants are directed to keep the bank guarantee(s) alive during the pendency of these appeals. The amount(s) so deposited/paid and the bank guarantee(s) furnished is subject to the result of these appeals. The appellants shall also deposit 50% of the tax liability/arrears, including interest and penalty, and furnish bank guarantee for the balance amount as and when demand notices are issued under the U.P.Act, 2007 for the past period. 5

In default, the interim order(s) granted by this Court shall automatically stands vacated.

In case the State of Uttar Pradesh loses the matters at the time of final hearing, it shall refund to the appellants the amount deposited with interest at the rate which may be fixed by this Court.

It is also made clear that in case the appellants loses the matter, the Department is at liberty to encash the bank

guarantee(s) offered by the appellants and also issue demand notice(s) demanding interest, and penalty on the amount outstanding as arrears of tax.

The appellants shall continue to pay the tax at the prevailing rate(s) for the future period as applicable to each one of the assessees.

In view of the interim order passed by us, we expect that the Department shall not resort to coercive steps to recover the amounts due to the Department.

The interim order(s) passed by us will apply to only those cases where the appellants have filed the affidavits before this Court pursuant to the orders passed by us on 05.01.2012.

If for any reason, the appellants in these appeals want to seek statutory remedies provided under the Act against the assessment orders, best judgment assessment orders, provisional assessment orders, appeals or revisions before appropriate forum, they are at liberty to do so and if such appeals or revisions are filed, we direct the statutory authorities to consider the same in accordance with law.

We also reserve liberty to the respondent-State of U.P. to verify the veracity of the statement made by the appellants in the affidavits filed insofar as the tax burden being passed on the consumers directly or indirectly. 6

Liberty is granted to the respondents to file appropriate application before this Court for modification of the interim orders granted, if for any reason, the appellants in these cases have passed on the tax burden on the consumers.

COURT MASTER COURT MASTER

(NAVEEN KUMAR) (SHARDA KAPOOR)