West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994

The respondents, K.B. Saha & Sons, purchased processed kendu leaves from the Orissa Forest Development Corporation under a tender, obtained lifting orders and transport permits, and moved the leaves to their factories in West Bengal. The State of Orissa levied sales tax under the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947, which the r…

The appellant, a Customs House Agent, signed the statutory declaration required under West Bengal Sales Tax Rules 211A before taking delivery of imported goods destined for Mumbai, transiting West Bengal. He failed to produce the endorsed counter‑signed copy of the declaration at the exit checkpost, leading the tax aut…

The Commercial Tax Officer seized the books and documents of Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. under Section 66 of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 on 18 October 2000. As the investigation could not be completed within the statutory one‑year period, the Additional Commissioner extended the retention of the seized records u…

The appellant, a small‑scale fruit‑processing unit, claimed exemption from West Bengal sales tax on the basis of Notification No. 1428‑FT dated 26‑May‑1994, asserting that its investment in plant and machinery was below Rs.5 lakhs after accounting for depreciation. The assessing authority held that the investment excee…

The appellants imported cigarettes, stored them in a bonded warehouse in West Bengal and sold them to the master of a foreign‑going ship as ship stores without paying customs duty. They claimed the sales were "in the course of import" and therefore exempt from West Bengal sales tax under the 1954 and 1994 Acts. The Cou…

The appellants, K.B. Tea Product Pvt. Ltd. and others, set up small‑scale units for blended tea under a tax‑holiday scheme that exempted manufacturers from sales tax under the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. The scheme was based on the then‑existing definition of "manufacture" which included "blending of tea". In Augu…

The West Bengal Sales Tax Bureau, after investigating alleged fraud by Narayan K. Patodia involving forged applications and tax evasion, forwarded a complaint to the police which resulted in the registration of an FIR under several IPC offences and sections of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act. The Calcutta High Court quas…

The State of West Bengal challenged the constitutional validity of several provisions of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 and its 1995 Rules, including Section 2(6), the explanation to Section 11, and Section 14(4), as well as Rules 172, 173, 174, 188 and 189. The respondents argued that these provisions created a s…

The State of West Bengal appealed against Calcutta Club Limited, which had been held not liable for sales tax on food and drink supplied to its permanent members. The club argued that the doctrine of mutuality made such supplies a non‑sale, while the State contended that the 46th Constitution Amendment (Article 366(29A…

The Calcutta Club, a Section 25 company operating as a members' club, was served with a notice for non‑payment of sales tax on food and drinks supplied to its permanent members. The Club argued that, under the doctrine of mutuality, no sale occurred because the supplier and the buyer were the same persons, a view uphel…