SONECHA BRORS Vs. SALES TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner has filed this petition under article 226 of the Constitution of India seeking from this Court a declaration that section 47 (4a) of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969 is ultra vires the Constitution being violative of articles 14, 19 (1) (g), 265 and 300a of the Constitution and consequently the order, annexure A/2 and the notice of demand in pursuance thereto are ultra vires, without jurisdiction and are liable to be set aside. The petitioner has further sought a declaration that the order at annexure A/2 is also liable to be set aside and quashed being apparently illegal, contrary to the provisions of section 19b of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969, mala fide prejudicial and unconstitutional. The petitioner has further prayed for a writ of prohibition restraining respondent No. 1 from recovering from the petitioner any tax, penalty and/or interest in terms of order at annexure A/2 and the notice of demand in pursuant thereto.

(2.) AS far as the challenge to the constitutional validity of section 47 (4a) of the Act is concerned, it is submitted by Mr. R. D. Pathak, learned advocate appearing for the petitioner, that he is not pressing the said prayer in this petition. In view of the above statement, we are not inclined to examine the said challenge in this petition.

(3.) DURING the course of assessment proceedings of the petitioner for the relevant period, somewhere in October, 1987, respondent No. 1 proposed to disallow the sales made by the petitioner to M/s. Jalaram Trading Co. of Jamnagar against declaration in form 24-B on the ground that such registration was not in force during the period of assessment of the petitioner. The petitioner, therefore, made an inquiry with the buyer itself and the petitioner was told that its Sales Tax Officer has illegally cancelled its registration certificate from 5th November, 1983 on the ground that it had discontinued its business and that against the said decision of the Sales Tax Officer, the buyer had filed civil suits against the State of Gujarat in the civil court at Jamnagar and the court had granted injunctions from time to time against the sales tax authorities directing them not (sic) to treat the buyer as duly registered under the Act and such injunctions were operative up to the first week of December, 1985. The petitioner also made an inquiry with the Sales Tax Department but no proper reply was given to it. However, the Sales Tax Officer, Division-3, Enforcement Branch, Jamnagar, on oral inquiry, informed the petitioner that the sales tax registration of the buyer was cancelled from November 5, 1985 and the intimation to that effect was placed on the notice board. The petitioner, therefore, raised an objection against the proposed levy of tax on the sales of groundnuts made by the petitioner to the said buyer against declaration in form 24-B. Respondent No. 1 has, however, not considered the objection raised by the petitioner and passed order of assessment on October 19, 1987 against the petitioner disallowing the claim of exemption to the petitioner in respect of sales made to the said buyer and raising the demand of Rs. 1,01,185 as stated above.