Granite Stone Blocks and Pieces attract Sales Tax at 5%: Allahabad HC upholds Tribunal Order
Granite Stone Blocks and Pieces sold by Dealers attract 5% sales tax, ruled Allahabad High Court
Allahabad High Court – Granite Stone – Sales Tax – Sales tax on granite stone – taxscan
Allahabad High Court – Granite Stone – Sales Tax – Sales tax on granite stone – taxscan
A Single Bench of the Allahabad High Court has ruled that granite stone blocks and pieces attract 5% sales tax.
The Bench decided the issue in favour of the assessee, settling the dispute between the Commissioner of Commercial Tax and M/s Peethambra Granites Pvt. Ltd.
The case, revolving around the taxable status of granite stone blocks and pieces, hinged on the interpretation of entry no.109 of Schedule II Part A, as per notification No.KANI-2-421/XI-9(1) dated March 31, 2011.
Represented by Ravi Shanker Pandey and Ishir Sripat, the revisionist-revenue and opposite party-assessee, respectively, presented arguments on whether granite stone should be taxed at 5% or 14.5%. The legal question focused on the exhaustive nature of the notification listing taxable items, excluding glazed stone, marble, and marble chips.
The Single Bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf observed that, “On an interpretation of the intention of the Legislature, I am of the view that glazed stone, marble and marble chips have been specifically excluded from the definition of "stone" in Entry No.109. If the Legislature wanted to exclude granite stone, the same could have very well been done by the amendment carried out on March 31, 2011. It is my view that if one were to agree with the submission made by the revenue, one would have to exclude several items that would ordinarily be termed as "stone", which is not permissible in law.”
It was further noted that, “Upon perusal of the order passed by the Tribunal, one finds that the Tribunal has held that stones that have not been processed in any manner, would be included in Entry No.109 whereas processed stones that have gone through some kind of procedure would be excluded. The above finding is in consonance with the fact that glazed stone has been specifically excluded from Entry No.109.”
The Court debunked the revenue's argument that granite stone was implicitly excluded from Entry No.109, emphasizing the deliberate exclusion of glazed stone from the definition of "stone." The court rejected the notion that an expensive item like granite stone should not fall under this category.
The judgment carries far-reaching implications for the taxation of granite stone, establishing a precedent for interpreting similar entries in tax schedules.
It was thus held by the Allahabad High Court bench that, “ In light of the above findings, there is no scope of interference in the well reasoned order passed by the Tribunal, and accordingly, this revision petition is dismissed.”
To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE
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