- (1.) This application under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India is at the instance of an applicant under Section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987 and is directed against an order dated January 15, 2010 passed by the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal, in Case No. RN-169 of 2008, thereby disposing of the said application by remanding the matter back to the Assessing Authority for a fresh assessment of the goods in question in the light of the observations made in the body of the order with further direction upon the Petitioner to disclose the basis of determining the sale-price of the disputed item so that the Assessing Authority can fairly and justly assess the sale-price of "Pan Masala" being sold separately along with Tobacco" in a single pouch under the brand name "Double Mazza".
(2.) Being dissatisfied, the applicant under Section 8 of the Act has come up with the present revisional application. The following facts are not in dispute: a) The Petitioner sells an item under the brand name "Double Mazza" (hereinafter referred to as the disputed item) in a pouch having two parts - one containing "Tobacco" and the other, "Pan Masala". According to the writ-Petitioner, the disputed item should fall under the Entry against serial No. 82 of Schedule-I of West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. b) According to the Assessing Authority, the disputed item consists of two commodities - one is "Zarda", a Schedule-I goods and the other is "Pan Mazala", a Schedule-IV goods poured in a single pouch marking two parts separately but the customer has no option to buy either the "Zarda" or the "Pan Masala" alone as both the parts as a whole should be purchased at a time. Therefore, according to the Assessing Authority, the disputed item should be treated as a taxable item under Schedule-IV and consequently, the Authority disallowed the sale of the disputed item of Rs. 47,62,500/- as a claim of Schedule-I goods by treating the same as "tobacco". c) The writ-Petitioner, being dissatisfied with the assessment order dated June 05, 2006, filed an appeal before the Appellate Authority and the Appellate Authority, by its order dated December 06, 2006, confirmed the assessment order by making the following observations: Now according to the assessment order passed by the learned Assessing Authority he fails to segregate the sale of zarda, Schedule-I goods and pan masala, Schedule-IV goods kept in a single pouch though separately but sold at a time. Thus it is crystal clear that pan masala is not zarda or tobacco. It falls under Schedule-IV of the WBST Act, 1994. It is a taxable item. The tax charged by the learned Assessing Authority is fully justified.
(3.) Being dissatisfied, the writ-Petitioner preferred a revisional application before the Revisional Authority but the said authority came to the conclusion that "Pan Masala" with "Tobacco" could not fall within entry 82 of Schedule-I of 1994 Act and consequently, confirmed the order of the Assessing Authority.;