BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Government is expected to get entry tax of `1500 crore and interest after a nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court ordered that the State is competent to levy entry tax under Article 304 of the Constitution.
A release issued by the Finance Department stated that the Supreme Court judgment came in the Vedanta Aluminium Limited vs State of Odisha and others and batch of other cases.
The division bench of the Supreme Court said under Article 304 of the Constitution, Odisha can levy the entry tax on scheduled goods brought/procured from outside the State which are not manufactured, the release said. Vedanta Aluminium Limited had filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the apex court in 2012 challenging the Odisha Entry Tax Act, 1999.
The department said in pursuance to interim orders of the SC and High Court of Orissa, some dealers have paid 50 per cent of the entry tax due on imported scheduled goods while others have paid one third of the entry tax due on scheduled goods brought/procured from outside the State which are not manufactured.
The release further stated, “It is expected that the dealers will pay the balance pending entry tax of about `1500 crore and interest thereon after division benches vacate the stay.”