REVENUE ADMINISTRATION

SALES TAX DEPARTMENT

General.

Sales Tax, an indirect tax. is an important source of revenue to  the state exchequer. A general sales tax was introduced by the  Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, at a rate of six pics in the rupee levied on the last stage of sale. On certain non-essential goods the incidence was one anna in a rupees. The original limits of turnover for liability to registration were Rs. 5,000 per year for importers, Rs. 10,000 for manufacturers and Rs. 25,000 for other dealers. The list of items exempted from taxation comprised, largely, the necessaries of life. A provision for voluntary registration for dealers whose turnover did not exceed the prescribed limits was introduced in 1948. In 1949, a levy at half the regular rate was introduced in respect of goods transported to other States. The general rate was similarly reduced to three pies in a rupee on goods of special importance, namely, bullion and specie and vegetable oils (excepting hydrogenated products). The position originally obtaining under the Central Provinces Act was that the purchase price was added to the taxable turnover where goods were purchased by registered dealers against their registration certificates free of tax and were resold outside the area of the Madhya Pradesh State. Even after the reorganisation, Nagpur remains an important centre for the distribution of goods to the Mahakoshal area of the Madhya Pradesh State and so the original restriction was found to be onerous and detrimental to the interests of the dealers of Nagpur. This restriction was accordingly removed by the Government after the reorganisation.

Raw cotton, the sales of which were tax-free in the Madhya Pradesh at the time of the reorganisation, was brought into the list of taxed goods after reorganisation. The Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, was applied to the region from January 1, 1960.

Administrative Organisation.

For the purpose of administration, Amravati district has been taken as a homogeneous unit. Prior to April 1, 1953, District Excise Officer, Amravati and executive staff under him were declared as Sales Tax Officers, Assistant Sales Tax Officers and Sales Tax Inspectors, respectively. The Sales Tax department was separated completely from the Excise department from April 1, 1953.

Under the Act and Rules, the Sales Tax Officer exercises the powers delegated to him by the Commissioner of Sales Tax for the general administration of the Act. He registers the dealers liable to pay tax under the Act and receives periodical returns from them which show their gross turnover, taxable turnover and tax payable by them. After the closing of the year (followed by the dealers), an assessment case of all the returns for that year is prepared and the dealer is assessed by the Sales Tax Officer or the Assistant Sales Tax Officer, as the case may be. Up to June 1958, the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax used to exercise the powers of assessment of dealers whose gross and taxable turnover exceeded Rs. 20 lakhs and four lakhs, respectively. In June 1958, powers of assessment in case of dealers whose gross turnover exceeded Rs. 1 lakh in the preceding year were delegated to the Sales Tax Officers and Assistant Commissioners were thus relieved of assessment work. The Assistant Sales Tax Officers were assessing dealers having gross turnover below Rs. 1 lakh. The Sales Tax Officer is also responsible for detection of cases involving evasion of tax, etc. In short, the Sales Tax Officer is the head of the office and is principally responsible for the general administration of the Act  in his circle.

The officer next above the Sales Tax Officer is the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax and he is the first appellate authority. Any order passed by the Sales Tax Officer is appealable. The Assistant Commissioner is also in charge of administration of the Act in the circles in his jurisdiction. He guides the Sales Tax Officer in complicated matters. Against the appellate order passed by Assistant Commissioner, Sales Tax, second appeal could be made before the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax. Against the second appellate order, the dealer could prefer revision before the Board of Revenue or the Commissioner of Sales Tax. In the latter case, however, the decision of the Commissioner of Sales Tax is final whereas the order of the Board of Revenue is subject to a reference and ultimate revision in the High Court.

Statistics of Collections,

The following table gives the amount of Sales Tax collected  in the Amravati district and the collection charges and the proportion of collection charges to the amount collected. The collection charges, however, include the expenditure of the office of the Assistant Commissioner and that of the Sales Tax Officer.

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