1978 (11) TMI 139 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues:
Reference application under section 15(3A) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act for direction to state the case and refer question of law arising out of an order. Assessment of implied sale of containers of edible oil. Validity of orders by assessing authority and appellate authorities. Interpretation of Rajasthan Sales Tax (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1969. Jurisdiction of assessing authority to rectify orders. Application of section 4 of the Amendment and Validation Act.

Analysis:
The case involves a reference application under section 15(3A) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act seeking a direction to the Board of Revenue to state the case and refer a question of law arising from an order dated 7th March, 1977. The dispute revolves around the assessment of the implied sale of containers of edible oil by the assessing authority, which was later challenged by the non-petitioner firm through a series of appeals and revisions before different appellate authorities. The key issue is the validity of the orders passed by the assessing authority and the subsequent appellate authorities in light of the Rajasthan Sales Tax (Amendment and Validation) Act, 1969.

The assessing authority initially imposed tax on the implied sale of containers of edible oil, which was later quashed by the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals-I) in 1968. However, the assessing authority raised a fresh demand in 1970 based on the Amendment and Validation Act of 1969. The Division Bench of the Board of Revenue considered the retrospective operation of the Amending and Validating Act and upheld the legality of the assessing authority's order under section 5(b) of the Act. The non-petitioner challenged the rectification made by the assessing authority without following due process, arguing that the original order had merged into the Deputy Commissioner's order, rendering the rectification invalid.

The Division Bench referred to section 4 of the Amendment and Validation Act, which states that an order valid when made but subsequently invalidated by a retrospective amendment shall be deemed to involve a mistake apparent from the record. The court relied on precedents from the Madras High Court to establish that the assessing authority cannot revise orders finalized by higher authorities. In this case, the Deputy Commissioner's order had been set aside, making it impermissible for the assessing authority to revise it. Therefore, the Board of Revenue rightly quashed the assessing authority's demand, concluding that there was no basis for raising a question of law from their order.

In conclusion, the court rejected the application under section 15(3A) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, stating that there was no justification to direct the Board to state the case and refer the question mentioned in the application. The rejection was based on the lack of legal grounds and the proper interpretation of the relevant provisions. The application was dismissed with no order as to costs, affirming the decision of the Board of Revenue.