2014 (5) TMI 62 - SC - VAT and Sales Tax

Amendment of registration certificate with retrospective effect Held that - Certificate of registration was granted to the dealer on 06.12.1990 including certain items - The said certificate came to be amended by assessing authority whereby certain items were deleted from the certificate of registration by order dated 26.10.1993 - The said order has been set aside by Tribunal restoring the original certificate - That means to show that the order passed by the Tribunal has to be understood to have given retrospective effect to its own order by restoring the earlier order passed by the assessing authority - Since the order passed by Tribunal restored the certificate of registration dated 06.12.1990 and quashed amended certificate of registration which operated retrospectively, High Court ought not to have observed that the order passed by Tribunal is prospective only - Appeals are allowed and orders passed by the High Court are set aside and the order of the Tribunal is restored Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
1. Interpretation of retrospective and prospective effect of a registration certificate under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

Analysis:
The case involved an appeal against a judgment by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad regarding the amendment of a registration certificate granted to a dealer under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. The assessing authority had amended the certificate by deleting certain items with retrospective effect. The First Appellate Authority rejected the dealer's appeal, leading to the matter being brought before the Sales Tax Tribunal. The Tribunal allowed the appeal, restoring the original registration certificate issued to the dealer. However, the Revenue challenged this decision in the High Court, arguing that the Tribunal's order should be prospective. The High Court agreed with the Revenue and allowed the revision petition. The dealer then appealed to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court noted that the facts were undisputed, emphasizing that the Tribunal's order effectively gave retrospective effect by restoring the original certificate dated 06.12.1990 and nullifying the amended certificate. The Court disagreed with the High Court's view that the Tribunal's order was prospective only. The Supreme Court held that since the Tribunal's decision restored the original certificate with retrospective effect, the High Court erred in its interpretation. Consequently, the Supreme Court allowed the appeals, set aside the High Court's orders, and restored the Tribunal's decision. No costs were awarded in the case.