SVLDRS Benefits Not Available for Voluntary Disclosure When Tax is Admitted in Filed Returns: Madras...

The Gauhati High Court has granted the benefit of a concessional tax rate under Section 6(2) of the Central Sales Tax (CST) Act to a dealer, even though the dealer had failed to furnish the mandatory 'C' Forms. The court's decision was based on the fact that the inter-state nature of the sales transactions was not in dispute and was supported by other documentary evidence. The 'C' Form is a declaration required to avail a lower tax rate on inter-state sales to registered dealers. The High Court observed that the requirement to furnish the form is a part of the procedure to prove the transaction, but it is not the only way. Since the revenue department did not contest the fact that the goods had indeed moved from one state to another, the court held that the substantive benefit should not be denied for a procedural lapse.