57. Agreement to defeat the intention and application of the Act to be void:-
(1) If the Commissioner is satisfied that an arrangement has been entered into between two or more persons or dealers to defeat the application or purposes of this Act or any provision of this Act, then the Commissioner may by order declare the arrangement to be null and void as regards the application and purposes of this Act. He may, by the said order, provide for increase or decrease in the amount of tax payable by any person or dealer who is affected by the arrangement whether or not such dealer or person is a party to the arrangement, in such manner as the Commissioner considers appropriate so as to counter act any tax advantage obtained by that dealer from or under the arrangement.
(2) For the purposes of this section,-
(i) arrangement includes any contract, agreement, plan or understanding, whether enforceable in law or not, and all steps and transactions by which the arrangement is sought to be carried into effect;
(ii) tax advantage includes,-
(a) any reduction in the liability of any dealer to pay tax,
(b) any increase in the entitlement of any dealer to claim set-off or
refund,
(c) any reduction in the sale price or purchase price receivable or payable by any dealer.
(3) Before passing any order under this section, the Commissioner shall afford a reasonable opportunity of being heard to any such person or dealer whose tax advantage is sought to be counteracted.
