Rs 4k-cr VAT due from Essar Group firms: Gujarat

This includes the contentious sales tax deferral liability case of Essar Oil

While Essar Oil Ltd (EOL) has moved the Supreme Court seeking more time for paying outstanding sales tax dues to the Gujarat government on the ground that it is facing financial constraints due to economic slowdown, the Narendra Modi government has said over Rs 4,000 crore value-added tax (VAT) was to be paid by four Essar group companies, including EOL.

The Gujarat government has said over Rs 4,000 crore in the form of commercial tax was yet to be recovered from four companies of Essar group operating in the state. These companuies are EOL (Jamnagar), Essar Project (India) Ltd (Ahmedabad), Essar Steel (Surat) and Essar Project (Jamnagar).

State Finance minister Nitin Patel, in a written reply to the assembly, said a total of Rs 4,206.5 crore of VAT was to be paid by the four companies. This included the contentious sales tax deferral liability case of EOL. The company had approached court after it was denied benefit under the Capital Incentive to Premier and Prestigious Unit Scheme 1995-2000 of the state government. The Supreme Court had last year directed the company to pay the due under the sales tax deferral liability to Gujarat in eight quarterly installments starting from January.

According to Patel, EOL has paid a total of Rs 3,695 crore as VAT. Of this, Rs 2,691.59 crore was paid in three instalments after the apex court's directive. The government is yet to recover Rs 3,474.4 crore from EOL, he added. Recovery of commercial tax was also pending against EOL in two cases--one for Rs 0.23 crore (2007-08) and the other was for Rs 641.19 crore (2008-09). In both cases the Commercial Tax Tribunal has stayed recovery till pendency of the matter.

The statement issued by Patel stated that Rs 2.56 crore was to be recovered from Essar Project (India), Ahmedabad, Rs 1.6 crore from Essar Project, Jamnagar and Rs 86.54 crore from Essar Steel, Surat. In all these cases, the competent authority has imposed a stay on recovery till pendency of the cases.