BANWARILAL NEMANI Vs. STATE OF MYSORE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two revision petitions presented under section 23 of the Mysore Sales Tax Act, 1957, involve the interpretation of sections 20 and 22 of the Act, as they stood before their amendment by the Mysore Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1963 (Mysore Act No. 9 of 1964). This is how the question arises.

(2.) In respect of the sales of declared goods by the petitioner, the Commercial Tax Officer assessed the turnover in respect of the assessment years 1958-59 and 1959-60. There was a claim by the petitioner for a refund under the first proviso to section 5(4) of the Act, which directs the refund of the tax paid in respect of the sale or purchase of declared goods which are subsequently sold in the course of inter-State trade or commerce. The refunds, according to the petitioner, were refused by the Commercial Tax Officer and so, he appealed to the Deputy Commissioner under section 20. When those appeals were dismissed, he appealed further to the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal under section 22. That Tribunal, which was of the view that those appeals did not lie, dismissed them. There was an unsuccessful endeavour by the petitioner to have the orders of the Tribunal reviewed, and so these two revision petitions, in which he called in question the orders made by the Tribunal on the review applications.

(3.) Now, the ground on which the Tribunal declined to hear the appeals was, that under the provisions of section 22 of the Mysore Sales Tax Act, 1957, as it stood before its amendment by Mysore Act No. 9 of 1964, an appeal could be preferred only "from an order relating to assessment passed by the Deputy Commissioner whether on appeal under section 20 or suo motu under sub-section (1) of section 21" and that the order passed by the Deputy Commissioner in the appeals preferred by the petitioner was not an order "relating to assessment". The Tribunal stated :