2006 (2) TMI 611 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues:
1. Quashing of an order related to the levy of additional sales tax under the Tamil Nadu Additional Sales Tax Act, 1970.
2. Rejection of a petition under section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 for rectification of an error.
3. Rejection of a revision petition by the first respondent and direction to file an appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.

Analysis:

1. The main issue in this case pertains to the quashing of an order related to the levy of additional sales tax under the Tamil Nadu Additional Sales Tax Act, 1970. The petitioner's turnover was less than the threshold of Rs. 100 crores for the levy of additional sales tax. However, by mistake, additional sales tax at 2.5 per cent was collected. The petitioner submitted a petition under section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 for rectification of the error. Despite this, the petition was rejected by the second respondent, leading to the petitioner filing a petition before the first respondent in R.P. No. 11 of 2004. The first respondent also rejected the revision petition and directed the petitioner to file an appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.

2. The second issue involves the rejection of the petitioner's petition under section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 for rectification of an error. The petition was submitted due to the incorrect levy of additional sales tax when the turnover did not cross the specified threshold. Despite the clear error, the petition was rejected by the second respondent, which led to further legal proceedings by the petitioner.

3. The final issue revolves around the rejection of the revision petition by the first respondent and the direction given to file an appeal before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. The petitioner, aggrieved by this decision, filed a writ petition seeking relief. The counsel for the petitioner relied on a previous judgment by K. Govindarajan J, which was considered applicable to the current case by the learned Government Advocate. Following this decision, the order of the first respondent was quashed, and the assessing authority was directed to consider the petitioner's application under section 55 of the Act on merits and in accordance with the law.

In conclusion, the writ petition was allowed with the direction for the assessing authority to review the petitioner's application under section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, emphasizing the need for a fair consideration of the case in light of the legal provisions and previous judgments.