9911796707
TMI Blog1970 (11) TMI 83X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... registered itself as a dealer under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958. The power to assess the tax liability created by the Act is conferred on the Commissioner under sections 18 and 19. The Commissioner is authorised by section 30 to delegate any of his powers to officers appointed under section 3 to assist him. One of the categories of officers that can be appointed under that section to assist the Commissioner comprises of "Sales Tax Officer or Additional Sales Tax Officer". "Sales Tax Officer" is defined in section 2(p) to mean a Sales Tax Officer appointed under section 3 and to include an Additional Sales Tax Officer. These officers exercise jurisdiction "within such areas as the appointing authority may specify" under se ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fficiating Additional Sales Tax Officer, Raipur Circle 2. There is also a Sales Tax Officer, namely, Shri Gautam, appointed by the Government for Raipur Circle 2. The delegation of the Commissioner's powers was made by the Commissioner, Shri K.C. Tiwari, by Notification No. 267, dated 1st April, 1959, under which powers under sections 18 and 19 in relation to assessment of dealers were conferred on Sales Tax Officers. Shri K.C. Tiwari ceased to hold the office of the Commissioner some time in 1964 and some other officer was appointed in his place. There has been, however, no fresh order of delegation by the new Commissioner and the officers are still exercising the powers delegated to them by the notification issued by the previous Commis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Commissioner, Shri K.C. Tiwari, exhausted itself after Shri Tiwari ceased to be the Commissioner, and therefore, no Sales Tax Officer can exercise the powers under the Act until a new notification is issued by the new Commissioner. According to the learned counsel, every time a new officer is appointed as Commissioner, there should be a fresh notification issued by him under section 30, delegating his powers to the other officers appointed under the Act to assist him. There is no merit in this contention. The scheme of the Act is to create an office of the Commissioner of Sales Tax and to assign to it various powers and duties. Although the functions of the Commissioner have to be performed by the individual, who for the time being is ap ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cise jurisdiction throughout the Circle. For convenience sake, there may be some administrative direction or arrangement for distribution of business arising from the circle, but both the officers continue to have jurisdiction throughout the circle in spite of such an administrative arrangement. It is not necessary that the jurisdictional area of these officers should again be divided under the Act before any of them can exercise their powers in the circle. That will in effect amount to creating a circle within a circle and to hold that in one circle, there can be only one Sales Tax Officer. But that is not the correct legal position as there is nothing in the Act to indicate that there can be only one Sales Tax Officer in a circle. In our ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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