Company : Sol Infotech Pvt. Ltd. Website : www.courtkutchehry.com Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment And Validation) Act, 2015 17 OF 2015 [18 April 2015] CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 :- PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and commencement CHAPTER 2 :- AMENDMENT TO THE MAHARASHTRA PURCHASE TAX ON SUGARCANE ACT, 1962. 2. Amendment of section 12B of! Mah. IX of 1962 CHAPTER 3 :- AMENDMENT TO THE MAHARASHTRA STATE TAX ON PROFESSIONS, TRADES, CALLINGS AND EMPLOYMENTS ACT, 1975 3. Amendment of SCHEDULE I of Mah. XVI of 1975 CHAPTER 4 :- AMENDMENT TO THE MAHARASHTRA TAX ON THE ENTRY OF GOODS INTO LOCAL AREAS ACT, 2002. 4. Amendment of SCHEDULE of Mah. IV of 2003 CHAPTER 5 :- AMENDMENTS TO THE MAHARASHTRA VALUE ADDED TAX ACT, 2002. 5. Amendment of section 2 of Mah. IX of 2005 6. Amendment of section 20 of Mah. IX of 2005 7. Amendment of section 23 of Mah. IX of 2005 8. Substitution of section 28 of Mah. IX of 2005 9. Amendment of section 30 of Mah. IX of 2005 10. Amendment of section 44 of Mah. IX of 2005 11. Amendment of section 47 of Mah. IX of 2005 12. Amendment to Schedule C of Mah. IX of 2005 13. Amendment to notification issued under entry 54 of Schedule C of Mah. IX of 2005 CHAPTER 6 :- VALIDATION AND SAVINGS 14. Validation and savings Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment And Validation) Act, 2015 17 OF 2015 [18 April 2015] An Act further to amend certain tax laws in operation in the State of Maharashtra. WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend certain tax laws in operation in the State of Maharashtra, for the purposes hereinafter appearing; it is hereby enacted in the Sixty-sixth Year of the Republic of India as follows :- CHAPTER 1 PRELIMINARY 1. Short title and commencement :- (1) This Act may be called the Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment and Validation) Act, 2015. (2) Save as otherwise provided in this Act,- (a) sections 2 to 5, sub-section (1) of section 6 and sections 7 to 11 shall come into force with effect from the 1st April 2015; (b) sub-section (2) of section 6 shall come into force with effect from the 1st May 2015. CHAPTER 2 AMENDMENT TO THE MAHARASHTRA PURCHASE TAX ON SUGARCANE ACT, 1962. 2. Amendment of section 12B of! Mah. IX of 1962 :- In section 12B of the Maharashtra Purchase Tax on Sugarcane Act, 1962, in clause (e), for the word and figures "year 2013-14" the words and figures "years 2013-14 and 2014-15" shall be substituted. CHAPTER 3 AMENDMENT TO THE MAHARASHTRA STATE TAX ON PROFESSIONS, TRADES, CALLINGS AND EMPLOYMENTS ACT, 1975 3. Amendment of SCHEDULE I of Mah. XVI of 1975 :- I n SCHEDULE I appended to the Maharashtra State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callings and Employments Act, 1975, in entry 1, for clause (b), the following clause shall be substituted, namely :- "(b) (i) in case of a male, exceed Rs. 7,500 but do not exceed Rs. 10,000 ; . . 175 per month. (ii) in case of a female, do not exceed Rs. 10,000 ; . . Nil.". CHAPTER 4 AMENDMENT TO THE MAHARASHTRA TAX ON THE ENTRY OF GOODS INTO LOCAL AREAS ACT, 2002. 4. Amendment of SCHEDULE of Mah. IV of 2003 :- In the SCHEDULE appended to the Maharashtra Tax on the Entry of Goods into Local Areas Act, 2002, after entry 16, the following entry shall be added, namely :- "17. Goods covered by clauses (iv) and (v) of entry 55 of Schedule C, appended to the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002. . . 5%.". CHAPTER 5 AMENDMENTS TO THE MAHARASHTRA VALUE ADDED TAX ACT, 2002. 5. Amendment of section 2 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In section 2 of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 (hereinafter, in this Chapter, referred to as "the Value Added Tax Act"),- (1) in clause (20), after Explanation I, the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely :- " Explanation-IA.-Purchase price shall not include the amount of service tax levied or leviable under the Finance Act, 1994 and collected separately by the seller."; (2) in clause (25), after Explanation I, the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely :- "Explanation-IA.-Sale price shall not include the amount of service tax levied or leviable under the Finance Act, 1994 and collected separately from the purchaser.". 6. Amendment of section 20 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act,- (1) in sub-section (4), in the proviso, for the words "the aforesaid clauses" the words, brackets and letters "clause (a) or, as the case may be, clause (b)," shall be substituted; (2) in sub-section (6), for the words "two thousand" the words "one thousand" shall be substituted. 7. Amendment of section 23 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In section 23 of the Value Added Tax Act,- (1) in sub-section (5),- (a) in clause (a), for the words "During the course of any proceedings under this Act, if the prescribed authority is satisfied" the words "Where the prescribed authority has reason to believe" shall be substituted; (b) in clause (d), after the proviso, the following proviso shall be added, namely :- "Provided further that, in case a notice is issued under this sub- section on or after the 1st April 2015, no order of assessment under this sub-section shall be made after the expiry of six years from the end of the year, containing the transaction or, as the case may be, claim."; (2) in sub-section (11), for the brackets, figures and word "(3) or (4)" in both the places where they occur, the brackets, figures and words "(3), (4) or, as the case may be, (5)" shall be substituted; (3) in sub-section (12), for the brackets, figures and word "(3) or (4)" the brackets, figures and words "(3), (4) or, as the case may be, (5)" shall be substituted. 8. Substitution of section 28 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- For section 28 of the Value Added Tax Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely :- "28. Modification of tax liability. Where any Court or Tribunal or any Appellate authority or any other authority passes an order in appeal or review which has the effect that,- (i) any tax assessed under this Act or any other Act should have been assessed under the provisions of an Act other than that under which it was assessed, or (ii) any claim allowed or disallowed modifies the tax liability under this Act or any other Act, then in consequence of such order, such turnover or part thereof may be assessed or, as the case may be, tax liability may be determined, under this Act in accordance with the allowance or disallowance of such claim and may be subjected to tax at any time within five years from the date of such order : Provided that, where any assessment has already been made, the assessment shall be modified after giving the dealer a reasonable opportunity of being heard, notwithstanding that any provision regarding limitation applies to such assessment period.". 9. Amendment of section 30 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In section 30 of the Value Added Tax Act, in sub-section (2), after the proviso, the following proviso shall be added, namely :- "Provided further that, in case a dealer files an annual revised return, as provided under clause (b) or, as the case may be, clause (c) of sub-section (4) of section 20, then the interest shall be payable on the excess amount of tax, as per such annual revised return, from the dates mentioned in column (2) of the Table, till the date of payment of such excess amount of tax. Registration status in the year for which annual revised return is filed Interest to be computed from (1) (2) (a) Dealer, holding certificate of registration for whole year. 1st October of the year, to which the annual revised return relates. (b) Certificate of registration granted, effective from any date up to the 30th September of the year to which revised return relates 1st October of the year, to which the annual revised return relates. (c) Certificate of registration cancelled, effective on any date after the 30th September of the year to which revised return relates. 1st October of the year, to which the annual revised return relates. (d) Certificate of registration granted, effective from any date after the 30th September of the year to which revised return relates. effective date of registration. (e) Certificate of registration cancelled, effective on any date prior to the 30th September of the year to which revised return relates. effective date of cancellation of registration. 10. Amendment of section 44 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In section 44 of the Value Added Tax Act, after sub-section (4), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely :- "(4A) For the purposes of this Act, in case of amalgamation, merger or, as the case may be, demerger, the transfer of business shall be deemed to have taken effect either from, (i) the date of the order of the High Court, the Tribunal or the Central Government, or (ii) the date on which the Registrar of Companies notifies the amalgamation, merger or as the case may be, demerger, as opted by the company.". 11. Amendment of section 47 of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In section 47 of the Value Added Tax Act,- (1) in sub-section (1),- (a) for the word "Court" the words " Court, Tribunal " shall be substituted; (b) for the words "ending on the date of the order," the words "ending on the date, as opted by the company, to be the date of the order or the date on which the Registrar of Companies notifies the amalgamation," shall be substituted ; (2) in sub-section (2), for the words "the date of the said order" in both the places where they occur, the words "such date, as opted by the company under sub-section (4A) of section 44" shall be substituted; (3) in sub-section (2A),- (a) in clause (a),- (i) for the word, "Court" the words " Court, Tribunal " shall be substituted; (ii) for the words "order to the date of the order" the words "order to the date, as opted by the company, to be the date of the order or the date on which the Registrar of Companies notifies the demerger" shall be substituted ; (b) in clause (b), for the words " the date of the said order" wherever they occur, the words "such date, as opted by the company under sub-section (4A) of section 44" shall be substituted. 12. Amendment to Schedule C of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In Schedule C appended to the Value Added Tax Act,- (1) in entry 4, the following Explanation shall be added and shall be deemed to have been added with effect from the 1st April 2005, namely:- "Explanation.-For the purposes of this entry, as it stood from time to time, the "sewing thread" shall include embroidery thread."; (2) in entry 91, the following Explanation shall be added and shall be deemed to have been added with effect from the 1st April 2005, namely :- "Explanation.-For the purposes of this entry, as it stood from time to time, "spices" shall include spices in all forms, varieties and mixtures of any of the spices.". 13. Amendment to notification issued under entry 54 of Schedule C of Mah. IX of 2005 :- In the Government Notification, Finance Department, No. VAT- 1505/ CR-234/Taxation-1, dated the 1st September 2005, issued under entry 54 of Schedule C of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002, in the Schedule appended to the said notification, in entry 2, in column (5), for the words "Desi loni" the words "Desi loni, white butter" shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st September 2005. CHAPTER 6 VALIDATION AND SAVINGS 14. Validation and savings :- (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, decree or order of any Court or Tribunal to the contrary, any assessment, review, levy or collection of tax in respect of sales or purchases effected by any dealer or person, or any action taken or thing done in relation to such assessment, review, levy or collection under the provisions of the Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002 (hereinafter, in this section, referred to as "the Value Added Tax Act"), before the commencement of the Maharashtra Tax Laws (Levy, Amendment and Validation) Act, 2015 (hereinafter, in this section, referred to as "the Amendment Act"), shall be deemed to b e valid and effective as if such assessment, review, levy or collection or action or thing had been duly made, taken or done under the Value Added Tax Act, as amended by the Amendment Act, and accordingly,- (a) all acts, proceedings or things done or taken by the State Government or by any officer of the State Government or by any other authority in connection with the assessment, review, levy or collection of any such tax, shall, for all purposes, be deemed to be, and to have always been done or taken in accordance with the law; (b) no suit, appeal, application or other proceedings shall lie or be maintained or continued in any Court or before any Tribunal, officer or other authority, for the refund of any tax so paid; and (c) no Court, Tribunal, officer or other authority shall enforce any decree or order directing the refund of any such tax. (2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that nothing in sub-section (1) shall be construed as preventing a person,- (a) from questioning in accordance with the provisions of the Value Added Tax Act, as amended by the Amendment Act, any assessment, review, levy or collection of tax referred to in sub- section (1), or (b) from claiming refund of any tax paid by him in excess of the amount due from him by way of tax under the Value Added Tax Act, as amended by the Amendment Act. ( 3 ) Nothing in the Value Added Tax Act, as amended by the Amendment Act, shall render any person liable to be convicted of any offence in respect of anything done or omitted to be done by him, before the commencement of the Amendment Act, if such act or omission was not an offence under the Value Added Tax Act, but for the amendments made by the Amendment Act; nor shall any person in respect of such Act or omission be subject to a penalty greater than that which could have been imposed on him under the law in force immediately before the commencement of the Amendment Act.