ANAND OIL MERCHANT UNION Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Gujarat Sales Tax Tribunal, Ahmedabad has referred the undermentioned question to this Court, while exercising the jurisdiction under Section 69 of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969

(2.) The abovesaid question has been referred to this Court on the basis of two reference applications filed by the assessee is dealing in the business of reselling edible oil and is a dealer registered under the Act. In the assessment period from 18th July 1982 to 11th October 1982 the assessee had purchased oil worth Rs. 44,18,387-00 from one M/s. Jagdish Oil Mill of Navi Sankali, Taluka Jetpur, District Rajkot. According to the assessee the said vendor had recovered from the assessee the tax in the sum of Rs. 1,75,000/- approximately. In the course of the assessment of the assessee the Sales Tax Officer, Jetpur had informed the assessing authority assessing the assessee that the registration of the vendor, namely M/s. Jagdish Oil Mill has been cancelled with effect from 25th March 1982, on the ground that the vendor had closed its business. The order of the cancellation according to the said officer was passed by the Sales Tax Officer, Jetpur on 13th July 1982. It appears that a draft assessment order was made and served on the assessee as per the provisions of Section 46-A of the Act. The assessee had filed objections against the abovesaid draft orders.

(3.) It requires to be appreciated that the Officer, Jetpur on 27th May 1983 for obtaining certain copies pertaining to the Registration and thereof relating to the vendor and at the same time had sent an application dated 22nd May 1983 to the Assistant Commissioner, Sales Tax, Junagadh, requesting him to exercise his powers of suo motu revision under Section 67 of the Act, and to revise the orders of the cancellation of the registration certificate of the vendor. On 3-6-83 the assessee dealer had filed an appeal before the Assistant Commissioner, Sales Tax at Rajkot against the orders of cancellation of the registration certificate of the vendor by the Sales Tax Officer, Jetpur. The abovesaid appeal was dismissed by the Assistant Sales Tax Commissioner, Rajkot by the orders dated 24th October 1983 on the ground that the assessee dealer had no locus standi to file the appeal and the appeal was not a maintainable one. The application sent by the dealer-assessee to the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Junagadh for revision of the orders of the cancellation of the certificate which was treated as unregistered Revision Application No. 183 was also dismissed by the Assistant Commissioner by the orders dated 26th September 1983. The abovesaid number was given to the said petition by the Tribunal. It appears that thereafter the assessee-dealer had filed appeal No. 155/84 against the abovesaid orders of appeal and had also preferred the revisions application against the said orders dated 26th September 1983. The Sales Tax Tribunal by pronouncing the consolidated judgment and orders as well as the unregistered revision application on the grounds elaborately stated in the orders, but in nutshell holding that the unregistered revision application and the second appeal filed by applicant were not competent and maintainable. Later on at the instance of the assessee the abovesaid question has been referred to this Court by the Sales Tax Tribunal. (Paras 1, 2)