STATE OF GUJARAT Vs. AVANI UNDERWEAR CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN these references the following question is referred under section 69 of the Gujarat Sales Tax Act, 1969, for decision :

(2.) THE aforesaid question arises for decision because the applications filed by the opponents under section 55 (2) of the Sales Tax Act for grant of remission of sales tax payable by them are rejected by the Commissioner of Sales Tax without recording any reasons.

(3.) AGAINST the orders passed by the Sales Tax Commissioner, the opponents preferred Appeal Nos. 10/85 to 24/85 before the Gujarat Sales Tax Tribunal. At the time of hearing of appeals, preliminary contention was raised to the effect that the appeal against the order passed by the Sales Tax Commissioner under section 55 of the Sales Tax Act was not maintainable. The Tribunal arrived at the conclusion that the order passed by the Sales Tax Commissioner was appealable under section 65. For this purpose the Tribunal referred to the provision of section 65 which provides that an appeal from every original order, not being an order mentioned in section 66, passed under the Act or the Rules shall lie. Section 66 specifically provides as to the orders against which appeal would not lie. In that section there was no provision that no appeal would lie against the order passed under section 55. At this stage, we may note that by the Gujarat Act 10 of 1992 clause (5) is added to section 66 which provides that against an order of remission of tax, penalty or interest under section 55 no appeal and no application for revision shall lie. But it is an undisputed fact that at the relevant time there was no such provision. The Tribunal, therefore, rejected the preliminary objection. The Tribunal further held that as the order passed by the Sales Tax Commissioner was without giving any reasons, it was required to be set aside. Hence, the Tribunal remanded the matters to the Sales Tax Commissioner for reconsideration and for fresh disposal. Against that order the State of Gujarat preferred an application for making reference to the High Court under section 69 of the Sales Tax Act and the Tribunal has referred the aforesaid question for determination.