January 31, 2007

Shri B. C. Khatua,
Commissioner of Sales Tax
Maharashtra State, Vikrikar Bhavan, 8th Floor,
Mazgaon, Mumbai – 400 010

In the matter of Lintas India Pvt. Ltd. holder of TIN No. 27370189137 V.

Sub : Difficulty in depositing VAT Form No. 221 (Return-cum-challan) and TDS Form No. 405 (Return-cum-challan), together with cheque into RBI, Main Branch, Mumbai, which is acting as a treasury.

Hon'ble Sir,

Under the instructions from my abovenamed client, I had vide letters dated November 23, 2006 and December 6, 2006 brought to the kind notice of Mr. Santosh Kumar, Jt. Commissioner of ST(C), the difficulty faced by my said client in submitting the return form together with requisite cheque into RBI Treasury. The main point informed to the Department is that RBI is not accepting the prescribed return forms in the form in which they are made available by the Department instead the RBI is insisting that all the pages of the return form should be separated and pasted one by one in a chronology, so as to make the same a single form which only is acceptable to the RBI. If not done so, the RBI refuses to accept the returns in the original form and even refuses to put their remark "Refused acceptance" on the tax-payer requesting to do so.

2. The Department took up our above problem for resolution with the RBI, as per copy of letter dated 21-12-2006. However, todate, the RBI is not accepting the returns in the form in which they are supplied by the Department. The RBI's contention is that the form should be in a single sheet only, which is convenient to them for acceptance and stamping a treasury receipt for the tax amount paid. As a result, dealers are put to great hardship and inconvenience in the bank's premises.

3. As regards new TDS Form No. 405 (Return-cum-challan), which is prescribed under the MVAT (4th Amendment) Rules, 2006 dated 8th September, 2006, the said form is not available in the stationery of the Department as well as with the stationery printers in market. Hence, my above client downloaded the said form from the website of the Government in 5 sheets. This form again was not acceptable to the RBI on 29-1-2007. After great persuasion with the officer concerned, my staff succeeded in depositing the said return under Token No. 075494 dated 29-1-2007.

4. You are therefore requested to take up the matter with the RBI at a high level so that the issues involved are sorted out once and for all. On my part, I endorsed copies of my letters addressed to the Department to the RBI but they did not respond to the same.

5. Another important issue is the unavailability of TDS Form No. 405 in the Stationery Department as well as with outside printers. In view of this factual position, how the Department is expecting dealers to file TDS returns ? It will therefore be appropriate that dealers are not visited with interest in late filing of returns due to non-availability thereof.

6. I therefore request you to look into the matter so that the issues raised above are sorted out at the earliest.

Thanking you,

Yours truly,
D. H. Joshi
Advocate