9911796707
TMI Blog1974 (6) TMI 55X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Tax) Act, 1941. The petitioner filed an objection challenging the validity of the certificate and denying liability; the objection was summarily rejected by the Certificate Officer on 12th March, 1964. An appeal was taken to the Collector which was also dismissed. The petitioner thereafter filed a petition in revision before the Commissioner which also met with the same fate. The petitioner moved a revisional application therefrom before the Board of Revenue which by order dated 2nd April, 1965, dismissed the petition. The petitioner thereafter moved this court under article 226 of the Constitution, as already stated, praying for writs quashing the order of the Board of Revenue and also forbearing the respondents from giving effect to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m of the certificate is fatal to the certificate and to the entire proceedings, which is therefore liable to be quashed. For a rubber-stamp signature also, the certificate was held to be invalid. He also referred to the decision in the case of Satish Chandra Bhowmick v. Union of India1961] 65 C.W.N. 324. , in which it was held again that a certificate under the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, 1913, which is not in the form prescribed under the rule-making powers under the Act, cannot be executed under the Act. It was held that the certificate under the relevant sections must be signed by the Certificate Officer on the day on which he files the certificate in his office and the date borne on the notice must be the date on which the certi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... t, error or irregularity in the forms thereof. This Act was, as it appears, came into force on 28th April, 1961. Mr. Das Gupta's contention is that the certificate suffers from several fatal defects. He has submitted that in the certificate, the certificateholder is described as the State of West Bengal while the admitted position is that the certificate relates to a demand under the Central Sales Tax Act. He has referred to article 269(1)(g) of the Constitution which gives power to the Union to levy and collect taxes on sale and purchase of certified goods in the course of inter-State trade and commerce. Mr. Das Gupta fairly conceded that he could not challenge the tax as assessed in the proceeding but he was seriously challenging its re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ax Act. Mr. Das Gupta has next submitted that the certificate is under section 4 of the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act, which is confined to demand of arrears of land revenue, while admittedly the present demand is not an arrear of land revenue. It would appear that rule 1A was inserted in Schedule II of the Bengal Public Demands Recovery Act after rule 1 of the said schedule. Under section 38, the rules of schedule 11 have been given the effect as if enacted in the body of the Act. Rule 1A lays down that the procedure to be followed in respect of certificate of arrears of sales tax shall be the same as those in the case of arrears of land revenue payable to the Collector. It would therefore appear by and under the same provision the ar ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... not find that thereby any irregularity is committed, which would render the certificate invalid or otherwise questionable. It may be mentioned here that in the certificate the nature of the demand has been clearly stated as being tax due under the Central Sales Tax Act and, accordingly, there is no scope for any confusion in so far as this demand is concerned. In that view of the matter, we are of the opinion that mere description of the State of West Bengal in place of the Collector of a particular district does not cause any prejudice to the petitioner and the certificate is in no way questionable on that account. Mr. Das Gupta has further drawn our attention to the statutory forms of demand under the Central Sales Tax Act and the entry ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n given full and complete powers of levying, assessing and recovering of the Central sales tax dues. Accordingly, it is not necessary that in the certificate or in the demands there should be any description of the appropriate authority as acting as the prescribed authority under the Central Sales Tax Act when all powers in connection therewith has been given to the State Government and its sales tax authorities under its general law of sales tax. There is no doubt that in column 3 there is a misdescription in respect of demand which is stated to be under the Bengal sales tax law. This error in description has not caused any prejudice to the petitioner particularly when the certificate itself mentions that the amount has been due under th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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