Hon'ble Prakash Krishna,J.
Heard Sri N.C. Gupta, learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Standing Counsel.
By means of the present petition, the petitioners have challenged the insistence of the respondents for payment of registration fees on the supply of coal. The petitioner no.1 anad 3 are proprietorship concern and petitioner no.2 is a Pvt. Ltd. company and involved in the trading of coal and is registered under the provisions of U.P.Value Added Tax Act. For the import of coal the State of U.P. is being used as a passage. The forest authorities of State of U.P. are insisting upon taking registration and charging registration fees for each Truck of coal, which is being supplied.
The contention is that the petitioners are not liable to pay any registration fees nor liable to take any registration in respect of each Truck. Reliance has been placed upon a recent decision of this Court in M/s Akanksha Enterprises Vs. State of U.P. and others Writ Tax No. 1699 of 2011 decided on 8.12.2011 wherein this Court had allowed the writ petition and had held that the petitioners will not be required to obtain registration for movement of coal within the State of U.P. The operative portion of the judgement is reproduced below:
'On the aforesaid facts and circumstances the insistence for registration and for charging the registration fees is beyond the authority conferred upon the respondents under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 and the Rules of 1978.
Both the writ petitions are allowed to the extent that the petitioners will not be required to obtain registration for movement of coal within the State of U.P. If any registration fee is charged from the petitioners, the same will be returned to them. They will, however, continue to obtain transit passes and pay transit fee on the transportation/movement of coal, held to be forest produce in NTPC Ltd. (supra) in accordance with the U.P. Transit of Timber and other Forest Produce rules, 1978.' Learned Standing Counsel could not point out any distinguishing feature so as not to apply the aforesaid judgement in the present case.
Respectfully following the aforesaid decision, we allow the writ petition in the same terms and directions as mentioned in the judgement and order dated 8.12.2011 passed by this Court in the case of M/s Akanksha Enterprises (supra).
(Prakash Krishna,J) (Ashok Bhushan,J) Order Date :- 31.5.2012 MK/