RAJARAM FACTORY Vs. STATE OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are references under section 34(1) of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953, to be hereinafter referred to as the "Act". The two references raise identical questions of law. The same assessee has filed these two applications. Hence, they will be dealt with together. The questions of law referred for the opinion of this Court are these :

(2.) Mr. K. Srinivasan, the learned counsel for the assessee at the outset of his arguments represented that the first question has not been properly formulated, as the Tribunal should have also included therein the assessee's assessment for the year ending 31st March, 1957. From the facts of the cases to be presently stated, it is obvious that the parties as well as the Tribunal overlooked the assessee's challenged to the validity of assessment for the year 1956-57. The Tribunal had merely adopted the questions formulated in the assessee's applications. Hence the assessee should blame itself for the error. As we have come to the conclusion, for the reason to be presently stated, that all questions referred to us should be answered against the assessee, we do not think that there is any need either to re-frame the first question or to ask the Tribunal to submit a fresh question for the opinion of this Court.

(3.) The facts material for the purpose of deciding these references are : The assessee is carrying on business in Hubli under the name and style of Messrs Rajaram Factory. The assessee is challenging the validity of its assessment for the assessment year 1956-57 as well as for the first half of the year 1957-58. For both those periods the assessee did not submit any return. No notice was issued to the assessee requiring it to file any return. The assessment proceedings were initiated by the Commercial Tax Officer, Hubli, after issue of a notice in Form 13, as contemplated by section 14(5) of the "Act". The stand taken by the department is that the impugned assessments were made under section 14(5). It was conceded that a notice in Form 13 was given to the assessee before the period of limitation fixed under section 15 of the "Act". According to the assessee, these cases fall under section 15; no action having been taken under that provision within the periods prescribed therein, the assessments in question are invalid. We have to see whether that contention is correct.