DHANJI KALYANJI AND CO Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was an assessee under the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 (hereinafter referred to as 'the State Act') during the assessment year 1965-66. While the order of the assessment under the State Act was passed the purchase turnover of groundnuts amounting Rs. 5,58,408 and the purchase turnover of cotton amounting to Rs.60,387 were not assessed even though they were assessable under sub-sec(4) of Sec.5 of the State Act on the ground that the said goods, which were declared goods had been sold in the course of inter-State trade or commerce and therefore they were liable to be exempted from assessment in view of the decision of this Court in Munshi Abdul Rahiman & Bros v. Comml Tax Officer, 20 STC. 89 = (1967) 1 MysLJ 432=1967 KarLJ 52. The assessee had not paid tax under the Central Sales Tax Act even though the goods in quesition had been, admittedly, sold in the course of the inter State trade. After the decision in the case of Munshi Abdul Rahiman & Bros(l) Sec.15(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 was amended by the Central Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1972 with effect from 1-10-58 and Sec 5(4) of the State Act was amended by the Karnataka Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1973 with effect from the commencement of the State Act.

(2.) After the above amendment Sec. 15(b) of the Central Sales Tax Act reads as under :

(3.) By virtue of the said amendments, which were made with retrospective effect, the exemption that had been allowed by the Commercial Tax Officer while passing the order of the assessment under the State Act on the basis of the earlier decision of this Court became untenable. The Commercial Tax Officer therefore took action to rectify under S. 25A of the State Act the order of assessment passed earlier. After issuing notice to the assessee and hearing him, the Commercial Tax Officer rectified the mistake by levying tax under Sec. 5(4) of the State Act on the purchase turnovers of groundnuts and cotton referred to above. Aggrieved by the order of rectification the petitioner filed an appeal before the Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes (Appeals), Dharwar. The appeal was dismissed. A further appeal to the Karnataka Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Bangalore also failed. Hence this revision petition. The following facts are undisputed.