9911796707
TMI Blog1996 (4) TMI 404X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... JMUDAR S.B. JJ. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the Court was delivered by SUHAS C. SEN, J. - The appellant claims that he was a Sales Tax Practitioner in 1949 when the Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947, was in force in the State of Madhya Pradesh and, thereafter, he continued his practice in sales tax matters at Nagpur under the provisions of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959. The appellant claimed that when the Advocates Act, 1961, came into force, he was entitled to be enrolled as an advocate by the Bar Council of Maharashtra. It has been contended by Mr. Ganpule appearing on behalf of the appellant, that the appellant was entitled to be enrolled as an advocate by virtue of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... advocate to practise the profession of law (whether by way of pleading or acting or both) by virtue of the provisions of any law, or who would have been so entitled had he not been in public service on the said date; or (b)............ (c)............" Since the appellant's claim is confined to clause (aa) of sub-section (3), it will have to be examined whether he was entitled "to practise the profession of law" by virtue of the provisions of any law before 1st day of December, 1961. The appellant's case that he was appearing in sales tax matters before sales tax authorities under the Bombay Sales Tax Act has not been disputed. But that does not mean he was practising the profession of law. Section 71 of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... an authority empowered to take disciplinary action against the member of the profession to which he belongs, or (iii) who being a sales tax practitioner is found guilty of such misconduct by the Commissioner." It clearly appears that a distinction has been drawn between a legal practitioner and a sales tax practitioner in section 71. Both may appear before an authority in connection with sales tax cases. That will not turn a sales tax practitioner into a legal practitioner. Even a relative or an employee of an assessee may appear on his behalf before a sales tax authority. He does not require to have any special qualification for doing that. If an employee appears regularly for his employer in connection with sales tax cases of his emp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a sales tax practitioner and also professionally qualified people like lawyers and accountants. The right to appear before a sales tax authority is not confined to lawyers only. We are unable to uphold the contention that merely because the appellant has been permitted to appear before the sales tax authority, he falls within the category of persons entitled to practise the profession of law by virtue of the provisions of the Bombay Sales Tax Act. Moreover, appearance before the sales tax authority may only be for the purpose of filing a return and producing documents in support of the return. A relative or an employee or an accountant or a sales tax practitioner can be asked to do this job by an assessee for and on his behalf. That doe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... any provision nor any requirement for formal enrolment or registration as sales tax practitioner, but the then Commissioner of Sales Tax did not maintain a list of such sales tax practitioners. Since I was such a sales tax practitioner under that Act, I practised right up to 31st December, 1959, when that Act was repealed on January 1, 1960 by the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, and by virtue of the savings section 77(1)(c) of the Repealing Act, I was entitled to practise under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959 and get myself enrolled as sales tax practitioner under section 71, read with rule 66(2) of that Act." The question asked by the Secretary, Bar Council of Maharashtra, is also important for the purpose of this case. The sales tax practit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... is not a qualified chartered or cost accountant, will have to acquire some knowledge of accountancy. Even section 288 of the Income- tax Act and the Rules framed thereunder, lays down that an authorised representative who is not a legal practitioner entitled to practise in any civil court in India or a chartered accountant or a person qualified to be an auditor of a company may be allowed to appear before an income-tax authority, if he has passed any of the accountancy examinations recognised by the Central Board of Revenue or has acquired a degree in commerce from a recognised University. These rules go to show that apart from lawyers and chartered or cost accountants, other persons are allowed to practise in the Sales Tax Department as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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