Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003

No: 37 Dated: Dec, 27 2004

THE WEST BENGAL VALUE ADDED TAX ACT, 2003

West Bengal Act XXXVII of 2003

An Act to levy tax on sale of goods in West Bengal on the basis of value added to such goods at each stage of sale of such goods and on purchases of certain goods in West Bengal in specified circumstances and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Whereas it is expedient to provide for the levy of tax on sale of goods in

West Bengal on the basis of value added to such goods at each stage of sale of such goods and on purchases of certain goods in West Bengal in specified circumstances and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;

It is hereby enacted in the Fifty-fourth Year of the Republic of India, by the Legislature of West Bengal, as follows: -

CHAPTER I

Preliminary.

1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003.

(2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal.

(3) This section shall come into force at once; and the remaining provisions of this Act shall come into force on such date or dates as the State Government may, by notification, appoint, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(1) "Additional Commissioner" means an Additional Commissioner of Sales Tax appointed under sub-section (1) of section 5;

(2) "Appellate and Revisional Board" means the West Bengal Commercial Taxes Appellate and Revisional Board constituted under section 7;

(3) "appointed day", in relation to any provision of this Act, means the date on which such provision comes into force;

(4) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Investigation constituted under section 8;

(5) "Business" includes—

(a) any trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract or any adventure or concern in the nature of trade, commerce, manufacture or execution of works contract, whether or not such trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract, adventure or concern is carried on with the motive to make profit and whether or not any profit accrues from such trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract, adventure or concern; and

(b) any transaction in connection with, or ancillary or incidental to, such trade, commerce, manufacture, execution of works contract, adventure or concern;

(6) "Capital goods" means—

(a) machine, machinery, plant, equipment, apparatus, tools, appliances or electrical installation used for producing, making, extracting or procuring of any goods or for bringing about any change in any substance for the manufacture of final products,

(b) components, spare parts and accessories of such machine, machinery, plant, equipment, apparatus, tools, appliances or electrical installation used for the purposes as stated in clause (a),

(c) moulds and dies,

(d) pollution control equipment,

(e) refractory and refractory materials,

(f) storage tank, and

(g) tubes and pipes and fittings thereof,

used for the purpose of manufacture of goods;

(7) "casual dealer" means a person who, whether as principal, agent or in any other capacity, has occasional transaction involving buying, selling, supplying or distributing goods in the State, whether for cash or for deferred payment, or for commission, remuneration or other valuable consideration and includes, whether he has fixed place of business in West Bengal or not,—

(a) a transporter as defined in clause (52) who, while carrying any goods in his goods vehicle as defined in clause (16), fails to disclose the name and address of the consignor or consignee in West Bengal or fails to furnish copy of invoice, challan, transport receipt or consignment note or document of like nature in respect of such goods, or

(b) an owner or lessee of a warehouse who fails to disclose the name and address of the owner of any goods stored at his warehouse or fails to satisfy the Commissioner that such goods are for his personal use or consumption,

and such transporter, or owner or lessee, shall be deemed to have purchased such goods On his own account;

(8) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Sales Tax appointed Under sub-section (1) of section 3;

(9) "company" means a company as defined in section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956, and includes a body corporate or corporation within the meaning of clause (7) of section 2, or a foreign company referred to in section 591, of that Act;

(10) "contractual transfer price", in relation to any period, shall mean the aggregate of the amounts received or receivable by a dealer during such period for the transfer of property in goods used by way of accretion or accession in West Bengal in execution of a works contract as defined in clause (57), whether or not the amount received or receivable for such transfer is shown separately in the works contract, and shall comprise the value of such goods purchased, manufactured, processed or procured otherwise, by the dealer and the cost of freight or delivery as may be incurred by such dealer for carrying such goods to the place where such goods are used in execution of such works contract, but shall not include such portion of the amounts as aforesaid as may be prescribed;

(11) "dealer" means any person who carries on the business of selling or purchasing goods in West Bengal or any person making sales under section 14, and includes—

(a) an occupier of a jute-mill or shipper of jute,

(b) Government, a local authority, a statutory body, a trust or other body corporate which, or a liquidator or receiver appointed by a court in respect of a person, being a dealer as defined in this clause, who, whether or not in the course of business, sells, supplies or distributes directly or otherwise goods for cash or for deferred payment or for commission, remuneration or other valuable consideration,

(c) a co-operative society, club or any association which sells goods to its members,

(d) a factor, a broker, a commission agent, a del credere agent, an auctioneer, an agent for handling or transporting of goods or handling of document of title to goods, or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called, and whether of the same description as hereinbefore mentioned or not, who carries on the business of selling goods and who has, in the customary course of business, authority to sell goods belonging to principals;

(12) "digital signature" means authentication of any electronic record by a person by means of an electronic method or procedure in accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the Information Technology Act, 2000;;

(13) "director", in relation to a company, includes any person occupying the postition of director, by whatever name called;

(14) "electronic record" means data, record or data generated, image or sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or micro film or computer generated micro fiche;

(15) "goods" includes all kinds of movable property other than—

(a) actionable claims, stocks, shares or securities,

(b) country liquor,

(c) foreign liquor, whether made in India or not, including brandy, whisky, vodka, gin, rum, liqueur, cordials, bitters and wines, or a mixture thereof, beer, ale, porter, cider, perry, and other similar potable fermented liquors,

(d) lottery tickets,

(e) motor spirit having a flashing point below 24.4 degree celsius, required for use as fuel in aircraft,

(f) motor spirit having a flashing point at or above 24.4 degree celsius, required for use as fuel in aircraft,

(g) motor spirit, excluding motor spirit referred to in item (e) and item (f), having a flashing point at or above 24.4 degree celsius, and

(h) motor spirit of any other kind;

(16) "goods vehicle" means any motor vehicle as defined in clause (28) of section 2 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, constructed or adapted for use for transportation of goods or any motor vehicle not so constructed or adapted when used for the transportation of goods, and includes a trailer attached to such vehicle and any means of transportation including an animal to carry goods from one point to another point;

(17) "Government" means the Central Government, the Government of any State or the Government of any Union Territory;

(18) "input tax", in relation to any period, means the amount of tax,—

(a) separately realised or realisable by a registered dealer from a registered dealer in respect of purchases made by the latter dealer in West Bengal of taxable goods, other than such taxable goods as may be prescribed, required directly in connection with his business, or

(b) paid or payable by a dealer (not being a shipper of jute) under section 11 or section 12 or section 13;

(19) "input tax credit" or "input tax rebate", in relation to any period, means the setting off of the amount of input tax, or part thereof, by a registered dealer against the amount of his output tax;

(20) "interest due" means the amount of interest which remains unpaid after the expiry of the date specified in the notice of demand issued in this behalf under this Act or the rules made thereunder;

(21) "jute-mill" means a factory as defined in, or declared to be a factory under, the Factories Act, 1948, which is engaged wholly or in part in the manufacture of jute products;

(22) "manufacture", with all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions, means producing, making, extracting or processing any goods and includes printing and raising of natural resources like minerals, coal etc.;

(23) "net tax", in relation to any period, means—

(a) in case of a registered dealer, the amount of output tax in excess of the input tax credit claimed by such registered dealer in accordance with the provisions of this Act and the rules made thereunder,

(b) in case of any dealer other than a registered dealer, the amount of output tax;

(24) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette;

(25) "occupier of a jute-mill" means the person who has ultimate control over the affairs of the jute-mill;

(26) "output tax", in relation to any poriod, means the aggregate amount of tax payable by a dealer liable to pay tax under section 10, section 11, section 12, section 13, sub-section (3) of section 14, or sub-section (3) of section 24, or sub-section (3) of section 30, in respect of any sale, or purchase, of goods made by him in West Bengal;

(27) "partnership", "partner" and "firm" shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Indian Partnership Act, 1932;

(28) "penalty dues" means the penalty found to be unpaid after the expiry of the date specified in the notice of demand;

(29) "place of business" means any place where a dealer sells any goods or keeps accounts relating to sales or purchases of goods, and includes any place where the dealer processes, produces or manufactures goods and any warehouse of such dealer;

(30) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(31) "principal officer", in relation to a company, means the secretary, manager, director or managing director of such company;

(32) "provisional certificate" means the certificate issued to a person under sub-section (1) of section 30;