1985 (7) TMI 346 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Issues:
1. Competency of an appeal before the Division Bench of the Board of Revenue under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954.
2. Filing of application for making a reference before the Board of Revenue.
3. Interpretation of provisions under sub-section (10) of section 13 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1984.
4. Appeal against an order passed by a single Member of the Board under section 17 of the Act.
5. Competency of an application for reference under section 15 in relation to proceedings for rectification under section 17 of the Act.
6. Jurisdiction of the High Court to entertain reference applications arising from rectification applications.

Analysis:
1. The judgment addressed the issue of the competency of an appeal before the Division Bench of the Board of Revenue under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954. It was highlighted that no appeal was provided to the Division Bench against an order passed by a single Member of the Board under section 17 of the Act on an application for rectification. The Court emphasized that the appeal filed by the assessing authority in this case was not maintainable under the Act. The judgment cited previous decisions to support this interpretation, including the case of Commercial Taxes Officer v. Radha Ballabh & Sons, where it was held that no appeal lay before the Division Bench against an order passed on a rectification application made under section 17 of the Act.

2. The judgment discussed the filing of an application for making a reference before the Board of Revenue. It mentioned that an application for making a reference was filed by the assessing authority seeking that a question of law arising out of an order of the Division Bench of the Board of Revenue be referred to the Court for decision. However, as the application for making a reference was not disposed of within the stipulated period, an application under section 15(3) of the Act was filed before the Court.

3. The interpretation of provisions under sub-section (10) of section 13 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1984, was also analyzed in the judgment. It was noted that under this provision, the application in question would have been deemed to be an application for revision under section 15 if it had been proper and valid under the previous subsection (3A) of section 15.

4. The judgment delved into the issue of appealing against an order passed by a single Member of the Board under section 17 of the Act. It clarified that no appeal lay before the Division Bench of the Board of Revenue against such an order, as per the provisions of the Act. The Court emphasized that even if the appeal was entertained erroneously, the order of the Division Bench would be considered as an order passed by the Board in relation to the proceedings for rectification under section 17.

5. The judgment extensively discussed the competency of an application for reference under section 15 in relation to proceedings for rectification under section 17 of the Act. It cited previous decisions and highlighted that an order passed by the single Bench of the Board of Revenue under section 17 could not be considered as an order passed under other sections of the Act, thus rendering no appeal before the Division Bench. The Court supported this interpretation by referring to a similar view taken by the Bombay High Court in Commissioner of Sales Tax v. S.K. Manekia.

6. Lastly, the judgment addressed the jurisdiction of the High Court to entertain reference applications arising from rectification applications. It concluded that the reference application in the present case was not maintainable under the Act, and therefore dismissed the application.

In conclusion, the judgment provided a detailed analysis of various issues related to the competency of appeals, filing of reference applications, interpretation of statutory provisions, and the jurisdiction of the High Court in the context of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954.

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