- (1.) In the instant batch of petitions, the Revenue has assailed order of the Tax Board by which it allowed the claim of the respondent-assessees, who are Govt. of India Undertakings and are supplying diesel/petrol.
(2.) The claim of the assessee-respondents was that the license-fee recovery received by it from the dealers in view of pumps and tanks, is not liable to payment of VAT and they were only liable to payment of VAT on the sale of petrol/diesel. It was contended by the assessee-respondents that they are fixed installations and recovery of license-fee is not in the nature of sale. However, the Assessing Officer was of the view that since it is part of the turnover of sale of petrol/diesel, therefore, VAT is required to be levied on such license-fee recovery which in effect according to the Assessing Officer was virtually sale, and in other words the nomenclature was adopted as 'license-fee recovery' whereas the nature remains that of sale. Accordingly, the Assessing Officer charged VAT including freight as part of the sale price and also levied tax, interest and penalty under Section 61 of the Rajasthan Value Added Tax Act, 2003.
(3.) The matter was carried in appeal before the Dy. Commissioner(Appeals) who, however, insofar as license-fee recovery is concerned, allowed the claim of the respondent-assessees and also deleted the interest and penalty, however, insofar as inclusion of freight is concerned, he upheld the order of the Assessing Officer. Both the assessees as well as the Revenue filed separate appeals before the Tax Board. The Tax Board after analysing the material on record held that the question of charging VAT on license-fee recovery does not arise as it is on account of immovable property, and thus upheld the order of Dy. Commissioner(Appeals) and dismissed the appeal of the Revenue. The Tax Board also upheld the finding of the Dy. Commissioner(Appeals) of including freight as part of the sale price but deleted the penalty under Section 61 of the Act.;