9911796707
TMI Blog1974 (9) TMI 84X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... al Commissioner?" Rule 12(7) of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, now provides as follows: "The declaration in form C or form F or the certificate in form E-I or form E-II shall be furnished to the prescribed authority up to the time of assessment by the first assessing authority: Provided that if the prescribed authority is satisfied that the person concerned was prevented by sufficient cause from furnishing such declaration or certificate within the aforesaid time, that authority may allow such declaration or certificate to be furnished within such further time as that authority may permit." We are concerned in this case with the assessment under the Central Sales Tax Act for the dealer's assessment in respect of four quarters ending with Kartick Badi 15, 2016 S.Y. The Commercial Tax Officer, Esplanade Charges, Commercial Tax Directorate, West Bengal, issued a notice on 19th January, 1960, in form No. 3 fixing 3rd May, 1960, as the date of hearing and asking the dealer to produce books of account for the said period of four quarters for the purpose of assessment as the dealer had failed to furnish quarterly returns for the said period. On 3r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... istant Commissioner nor the Additional Commissioner mentioned a word, according to the assessee, about the said grounds or forms as to whether they accepted or rejected these. It was, therefore, urged that their orders were defective under the law and on the principles of natural justice should be set aside, and the case remanded for reassessment. The Additional Member, Board of Revenue, observed as follows: "I find that it is a fact that the declaration forms were filed with the petition of appeal and they are in fact in the appeal file of the Assistant Commissioner. I have also seen them myself. I have also found that it is a fact that both the Additional Commissioner and the Assistant Commissioner failed to discuss the grounds dealing with the said declaration forms and record their decision regarding them. However, I have already held in Case No. 240 of 1963 decided by me on 17th October, 1966, that the law does not permit acceptance of such declaration forms at a stage later than at the time of assessment. This was in regard to declaration forms under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, but the same principle applies in this case also because rule 4(4) of the Central ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es, 1958, deals with the declaration in form C and sub-rule (4) of rule 4 is in the following terms: "For the purposes of sub-sections (1) and (4) of section 8 of the Act, the selling dealer, to whom the two portions of the form of declaration are made over by the purchasing dealer under sub-rule (3), shall produce at the time of assessment both the portions marked 'duplicate' and 'original' of the declaration before the prescribed authority, who may, at his discretion, retain the original portion or return both of them after getting them mutilated or defaced in such manner as he may think fit: Provided that when goods are delivered In instalments against one purchase order and a declaration in form C covering the entire order Is furnished along with the return for one period, declarations need not be furnished along with the returns for subsequent periods in respect of the same transaction, if reference to previous return and declaration is given in the statement furnished with subsequent returns." The question in this case is whether the declaration forms that were given before the Assistant Commissioner and Additional Commissioner admittedly should have been taken into ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... these were sold, and to which authority the form was to be furnished. But the phrase "in the prescribed manner" in section 8(4) did not take in the time-element. In other words, the section did not authorise the rule-making authority to prescribe a timelimit within which the declaration forms were to be filed by the registered dealer. The Supreme Court in that case dealt with the third proviso to rule 6(1) of the Central Sales Tax (Kerala) Rules, 1957, which provided that all declaration forms pending submission by dealers on 2nd May, 1960, should be submitted not later than 16th February, 1961, and held the same rule to be ultra vires section 8(4) read with section 13(3) and (4) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956. But the Supreme Court observed that it was the duty of dealers to furnish the declarations in form C within a reasonable time. In that case, for the year 1959-60 the assessee did not file the declaration in form C on or before 16th February, 1961, as prescribed by the third proviso to rule 6(1) of the Central Sales Tax (Kerala) Rules, 1957, but he actually filed the declaration forms before the order of assessment was made. It was held that the assessee had furnished the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... section 21A could not be availed of by a dealer who had lost declaration forms issued to him by registered dealers for the purpose of asking the Commercial Tax Officer to summon the dealers to produce the necessary documents in order to prove that they had issued the declaration forms to him. The expression "on demand" in rule 27A of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941, only fixed the point of time when the declaration forms were to be produced. Sub-rules (3) and (4) of rule 27A did not enable the selling dealer either to directly apply or to compel the purchasing dealers to apply for duplicate declaration forms; nor did they enjoin the appropriate authority to give the selling dealer a duplicate form to replace the lost one. The facts of the present case are quite different. Here the statute itself does not require production of the declaration within any specified time and here declaration forms were In fact produced before the Assistant Commissioner before whom this question was again pending. The assessment as regards the imposition of Central sales tax, in our opinion, Involves proper application, rates and taxes in connection with the sales as provided In section 8 of the Act an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
