Bombay High Court: Imposition of LBT which was due before GST came into force is valid
Title: Wintry Engineering & Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.
Decided on: AUGUST 08, 2023
WRIT PETITION NO. 9988 OF 2023
CORAM: G. S. KULKARNI & JITENDRA JAIN, JJ.
Facts of the Case
Petition has been filed by the Petitioner, who challenges the imposition of Local Body Tax (LBT) on his factory. According to him,
Contentions
The petitioner contends that the Chole village, where his factory is situated is outside the jurisdiction of Municipal Corp or Kalyan-Dombivli Region. Chole village was not included in Schedule-I of the notification by the government outlining the areas under Kalyan-Dombivali Municipal Corp. The second contention was that the MMC Act, 2017 deleted LBT. It was illegal for the respondent/corporation to demand interest and penalty, as it is his submission that the LBT provisions would not permit levy of penalty and interest and if at all the rules provide for it, they are ultra virus the Municipal Corporation Act.
The Respondents denying that the non-inclusion of chole village submit that the village was included in Schedule – II by another notification. Addressing the second issue, it was contended that as per Sec. 78, powers under MMC Act which were in force immediately prior to the appointed day of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, shall have effect after the appointed day of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Decision
The Court dismissed the petition for the respondents were able to strongly prove their case. Imposition of tax on them was upheld, but the petitioners were given the power to file for appeal later.
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Written by- Aparna Gupta, University Law College & Dept. of Studies in Law