PARAMU Vs. STO SPECIAL CIRCLE QUILON

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner was assessed to sales tax. He appealed. During the pendency of the appeal, the General Sales Tax Act, 1125 was repealed by the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. That Act came into force on 1-4-1963. Thereafter the appeal was disposed of on 28th August, 1963 and the order was received by the petitioner on 25 10 1963. On the 15th December that year he applied to the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax for revising the appellate order, presumably invoking S.15 of the General Sales Tax Act, 1125. The relevant part of S.15(1) is in these terms:

(2.) The Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax by Ext. P-3 order dismissed the revision petition on the ground that he had no competence to deal with it, for under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, the Deputy Commissioner was not empowered to revise an order passed in appeal by the Appellate Assistant commissioner. This view was taken apparently in view of the provision in S.35 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. That Section runs thus:

(3.) From the wording of this Section, it is clear that the Deputy Commissioner is empowered to revise only the orders passed by the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner or by any Officer who is subordinate to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner. It is not disputed before us that the Appellate Assistant Commissioner is not an authority subordinate to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner. So it is clear that after the coming into force of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, on 1-4-1963, the Deputy Commissioner has no power to revise an order passed in appeal by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.