- (1.) THE petitioner is a, company registered under the Companies Act. The main object of incorporation of the petitioner -company as provided in the memorandum of association is to undertake the electricity, sub -transmission, distribution and retail supply amongst other places in Kanpur urban areas and other districts in the State of U.P.
(2.) THE petitioner is supplying the electricity to its consumers under the agreements executed with such consumers. To measure the consumption of electricity, the petitioner is using the metres and realizing the rent from the consumers. For the assessment years 1998 -99 to 2001 -02, the Department accepted the claim of the petitioner that trade tax is not leviable on the metre rents charged by the petitioner from the customers, under Section 3F of the said Act, in view of the fact that there is no transfer of right to use the metres. The said meters could only be used for measuring the consumption of electricity. Assessment orders were framed in the light of the circular dated February 6, 1996 issued in this regard by the Commissioner. Thereafter notices under Section 21 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act for the aforesaid assessment years to reassess the turnover were issued on the ground that the metres rent charged by the petitioner has escaped assessment and the petitioner is liable to pay trade tax on the said amount in view of Section 3F of the Act. Permission as required under Section 21(2) was sought for and was granted by the concerned Commissioner by the order dated March 15, 2005. Copy of these orders have been collectively filed as annexure 12 to the writ petition. The assessing authority thereafter proceeded to reassess the turnover of the petitioner and consequently passed reassessment orders dated March 29, 2005 under Section 21 of the Act. Challenging the aforesaid orders, the present writ petition has been filed, mainly on the ground that there was no material in possession of the Department to form a belief that the turnover of the petitioner has escaped assessment. In other words, the case of the petitioner is that the original assessment orders were framed in accordance with the circular issued by the Commissioner at the relevant point of time.
(3.) IN the counter -affidavit the stand taken by the respondents is that since the petitioner has admittedly charged rent from the customers, in view of Section 3F, the petitioner is liable to pay the tax thereon. The learned standing Counsel in this connection referred paragraph 14 of the counter -affidavit of Shri R.N. Yadav. Heard learned Counsel for the parties and perused the entire record of the case.;