Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973

In a suit for permanent injunction, the parties entered into a compromise decree dated 06‑09‑1996 requiring the defendant to pay a sum within six months. The defendant failed to pay, and the decree-holder filed an execution petition on 17‑02‑1997, before the six‑month period had expired. The defendant objected under Se…

Mis. Casio India Co. Pvt. Ltd., a manufacturer of radio pagers in Haryana, claimed exemption from Central Sales Tax (CST) on inter‑state sales of goods it purchased from another dealer holding a valid exemption certificate under Rule 28A. The State of Haryana rejected the claim, contending that the exemption applied on…

The petitioners, manufacturers of handicrafts in Haryana, purchased raw material within the state and sold the finished goods to dealers in Delhi who exported them. They claimed exemption from purchase tax under Section 9 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, relying on the declaration form ST‑15. The Haryana Sales Tax…

Satnam Overseas, a miller‑exporter, bought paddy in Haryana and Punjab, milled it into rice and exported the rice. The assessing authorities initially granted exemption under Section 9(1)(b) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, but later revised the assessments on the ground of retrospective amendments to Sectio…

The appellants, Jay Vee Rice and General Mills, were granted exemption from sales tax under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act but collected purchase tax on paddy as part of the price received from the District Food and Supplies Controller (DFSC). The assessing authority held that the purchase tax so collected must be d…

Advance Bricks Co., a registered dealer under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, purchased sun‑dried bricks on which it paid sales tax and subsequently burnt them to produce baked bricks which it sold at a higher price. It claimed a deduction of the tax paid on the purchase from its gross turnover for the 1981‑82…

The State of Haryana withdrew the sales‑tax exemption for solvent‑extraction plants by placing the industry in a negative list on 16‑12‑1996, after Mahabir Vegetable Oils Pvt. Ltd. had invested in setting up such a plant based on an earlier promise of exemption. The respondent claimed entitlement to the exemption on th…

The Supreme Court examined whether the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (as amended) and the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 (section 13‑AA) could levy a tax on the despatch of manufactured goods to a dealer’s own branches outside the State. It held that the taxable event under both statutes is the consignment/despatch o…

The petitioners, M/s Khadi and Village Soap Industries, challenged a 1987 notification under Section 13(1) of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 that granted a full sales‑tax exemption to the Khadi Ashram, Panipat and its centralized units, while limiting the exemption for other cooperative societies to those whos…

M/s Liberty Enterprises, a shoe manufacturer in Haryana, was granted a sales‑tax exemption certificate (Rs 533 lakhs) under Section 138 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 and Rule 28A of the 1975 Rules, effective 15 Mar 1995‑14 Mar 2002. The exemption was used until 31 Dec 1996, after which the firm switched to…

The Haryana government assessed Hindustan Construction Co. for the 1998-99 year under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 and ordered a refund in May 2000. The 1973 Act was repealed by the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003 on 1 April 2003, which saved only pending proceedings. In June 2004, the tax authority exerci…

Frick India Ltd. and another challenged the levy of interest on purchase tax under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 (and the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956) through a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The petitioners argued that the interest collected was unlawful and should be refunded. The Court…

Monga Rice Mill, a Haryana-based miller, bought paddy, processed it into rice and sold the rice to an exporter who exported it. The miller claimed exemption from purchase tax on the paddy under Article 286 of the Constitution and Sections 5(3) and 15(ca) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, arguing that the purchase was…

The Supreme Court examined whether the doctrine of promissory estoppel can operate against a State's legislative action granting sales‑tax exemption under Haryana's industrial policy. Mahabir Vegetable Oils and other appellants had invested heavily in solvent‑extraction plants based on Rule 28A, which initially exclude…

The respondents, who are clearing and forwarding agents (dalals), challenged Section 38 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973 and Rule 53 of the 1975 Rules, which required them to obtain a licence, furnish transaction particulars and face a penalty of 20% of the value of goods for non‑compliance. The Punjab & Hary…

The appellants, leasing companies, entered into master lease agreements for equipment and were taxed by several states on the transfer of the right to use the goods. The states relied on explanations in their sales tax statutes that deemed the taxable event to occur where the goods were used, irrespective of where the …

The Supreme Court examined the validity of purchase‑tax provisions in the sales‑tax statutes of Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Bombay, which imposed tax on goods purchased for manufacture when the finished goods were dispatched out of the state without a sale. Dealers challenged these provisions on the gro…

The State of Haryana appealed against the Haryana Sales Tax Tribunal’s order directing Maruti Udyog Ltd. to deposit the full tax, interest and penalty before its appeal could be entertained. Maruti argued that the proviso to sub‑section (5) of Section 39 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973, allowed an appeal wit…

United Riceland Ltd., a dealer engaged in purchasing and dehusking paddy for export, was assessed purchase tax for the assessment year 1990-91 under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act, 1973. The dealer challenged the assessment, arguing that the exemption under Section 9(1)(b) should remain effective until the amendment…

The petitioners, dealers under the Central Sales Tax Act, challenged the constitutional validity of sub‑section (2‑A) of section 9 of the Act (as amended in 1976) and the retrospective validation of penalties, alleging excessive delegation of legislative power and violations of Articles 19(1)(f), 19(1)(g) and 20(1) of …

The Government Medical Store Depot, Kamal, a central government department that supplies medical stores to government hospitals on a "no profit, no loss" basis, was assessed sales tax for the years 1964-65 to 1968-69 under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948. The tax authorities treated the depot as a "dealer" and o…

The appellant, a transport company, challenged Sections 42, 44 and the later inserted Section 46A of the Assam General Sales Tax Act, 1993, arguing that transporters are not dealers and thus outside the legislature's competence under Entry 54 of List II. The State contended that these provisions are ancillary measures …

Bharat Steel Tubes Ltd., a registered dealer under the Punjab and Haryana sales‑tax Acts, filed returns for the years 1968‑69 to 1974‑75. The assessing authority issued notices under the respective statutes and the company complied, but later issued further notices seeking additional documents. The company challenged t…