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TMI Blog1970 (12) TMI 63X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ls on behalf of the State of Orissa, and as such the appeals were not maintainable. The learned Member, Tribunal, rejected the objection regarding limitation and the same has not been canvassed before us. That matter would, therefore, be taken to have been concluded. He, however, held that Sri L.C. Sahu had no authority to sign and verify the memoranda of appeals and as such the second appeals before him were incompetent. He further held that in these cases the Commissioner had passed no orders directing the filing of the second appeals and it is the State Representative who filed the appeals on his own responsibility without any orders from the Commissioner. This, according to him, affected the competency of the appeals. Factually, this statement made by the learned Member, Tribunal, is not correct. In paragraph 6 of the writ application an averment has been made to the following effect on affidavit by Sri Jagannath Pradhan, Additional State Representative functioning in the office of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, on the basis of official record: "That on receipt of the orders in appeal, the matter was placed before the Commissioner of Sales Tax to get orders in the departm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be entrusted to him by rules made by the State Government under this Act. (3) The State Government may appoint such other persons under any prescribed designation including an Additional Commissioner and a Deputy Commissioner to assist the Commissioner and they shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may he conferred or imposed by or under the provisions of this Act within such local area as may be assigned to them by the Commissioner. Section 17. Delegation of Commissioner's functions.-Subject to such conditions and restrictions as the State Government may, by general or special order, impose, the Commissioner may, by order in writing, delegate any of his powers and duties under this Act or the rules made thereunder to any person appointed under section 3 to assist him. Section 23. (3)(a) Any dealer or, as the case may be, the State Government dissatisfied with an appellate order made under sub-section (2) may within sixty days from the date of receipt of such order prefer an appeal in the prescribed manner to the Tribunal or Additional Tribunal, as the case may be, against such order: Provided that an appeal under this clause may be admitted after the aforesai ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... control of the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (hereinafter to be referred to as the Commissioner) who is the head of the department. The post of the State Representative is equivalent to that of the Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. He can be transferred to anyone of the six posts constituting the Selection Grade post (see pages 686-87 of the Orissa Civil List corrected up to 31st August, 1968). The State Representative is therefore not a stranger to the Sales Tax Department. 5.. Section 23(3)(a) provides that the State Government, if dissatisfied with an appellate order passed by an A.C.S.T., may prefer an appeal in the prescribed manner to the Tribunal. Section 29(2)(r) confers power on the State Government to frame rules to prescribe the manner in which and the authority to which appeals against assessment or penalty or both may be preferred under section 23. In accordance with this power the State Government has framed rule 52(1)(b) whereunder a memorandum of appeal can be filed before the Tribunal by the Commissioner on behalf of the State Government. Either the Commissioner himself would sign and verify the memorandum or he may authorise any other officer. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , dated the 5th June, 1958, I, Shri S.M.H. Burney, I.A.S., Commissioner of Sales Tax, Orissa, do hereby authorise the State Representative, Commercial Tax Department, to sign and verify the memoranda of appeals or the memoranda of cross-objections to be filed before the Sales Tax Tribunal, Orissa, under sub-section (3) of section 23 of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947, on behalf of the State Government." The State Representative therefore by virtue of this authority was competent to sign and verify the memoranda of appeals. 7.. The learned Member, Tribunal, has however come to a different conclusion on the basis of section 17 read with section 3. Section 17 speaks of delegation of Commissioner's functions. The Commissioner may, by order in writing, delegate any of his powers and duties under the Act or the rules made thereunder to any person appointed under section 3 to assist him. Sub-section (3) of section 3 enumerates the taxing authorities who can assist the Commissioner. The sub-section does not include the State Representative. The learned Member accordingly concluded that the expression "such other officer" in rule 52(1)(b) must be from amongst the class of taxing authorit ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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