I have been working for a company which is in computer education business and franchising. I was entrusted with the responsibility of setting up company's operations from zero in one of the states. company had set up two computer training centres in its ownership and has been collecting service tax from the students and the frachisees. How ever the service tax never got paid for over two and a half years. Company proposed to me that to avoid the service tax liability i become "franchisee" on paper so that in the individual capacity most of the transactions can be executed in cash and service tax can be avoided.
I was not keen on signig the agreement but i had my salary dues of over 3 las to be recovered from the company and i was told that my dues will be cleared moment i sign the agreement. there was a monetary clause of franchisee fees , which i was not supposed to pay(under non-documented mutual understanding). after reading the agreement i signed the draft copy with the corrections done on it in pen for the clauses i did not agree with. later there was a fallout between me and the company , i quit the company and my salary dues were not cleared and the salary cheques given to me bounced.
i served the legal notice to the company and in return to avoid the payment company has served a notice to me based on that draft agreement my Questions are as follows
1) can an agreement which has pen corrections on it be considered as valid?
2)There was monetary clause of certain franhisee fees in the agreement but i have not paid it. Can the agreement be considered as executed ?.
3) as it was draft agreement there were no wittness , the sign of the compay MDy was not theere (however company had added the signture now in the copy), the agreement registered to myknowledge for more than three months after it was signed . still can it be considered valid to be produced in court of law?
4)what are my defences ?
