STATE OF MADRAS Vs. METTUR INDUSTRIES LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE State is the petitioner in all these cases and it canvasses the correctness of the common order of the Tribunal in respect of the assessment year 1959-60, 1960-61 and 1961-62 in relation to the same assessee, Mettur Industries Limited. In the original assessments under section 12 of the Madras General Sales Tax Act for the years 1959-60, 1960-61 and 1961-62, turnover relating to canteen sales effected by the assessee were not included on the ground that they are not taxable. Similarly, turnovers of Rs. 65,75,320. 35 in 1959-60, of Rs. 59,82,489. 09 in 1960-61 and of Rs. 87,30,321. 58 in 1961-62 were also exempted on the ground that they represented inter-State purchases of cotton not taxable under the Madras General Sales Tax Act. Subsequent to the original assessment, the assessing authority invoked its power under section 16 of the Act and brought in the turnover relating to canteen sales on the ground that they had escaped assessment in all the three years in question. As against this addition of canteen sales in the taxable turnovers as a result of the reassessment under section 16, the assessee filed appeals before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. In those appeals, the assessee challenged only the addition of the turnovers relating to canteen sales in the taxable turnovers. THE appeals having failed, the assessee took the matter in appeal before the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. In those appeals also, the assessee challenged only the addition of the turnover relating to canteen sales. In these appeals, the revenue not only wanted to sustain the addition of turnovers relating to canteen sales in the taxable turnovers, but also filed applications for enhancement of the original assessments by bringing to charge the purchase turnovers of cotton, exempted earlier by the assessing authority on the ground that they were inter-State purchases. THE Tribunal allowed the assessee's appeals holding that the turnover relating to canteen sales cannot be taxed in the relevant assessment years, following the decision of this court in Deputy commissioner of Commercial Taxes v. Thirumagal Mills Ltd. ([1967] 20 S. T. C. 287), which has since been affirmed by the Supreme Count in State of Tamil Nadu v. Thirumagal Mills Ltd. ([1972] 29 S. T. C. 290 (S. C.) ). This part of the decision of the Tribunal cannot, in our view, be challenged in view of the categorical opinion expressed by the Supreme Court in State of Tamil Nadu v. Thirumagal Mills Ltd. ([1972] 29 S. T. C. 290 (S. C.) ).

(2.) THE enhancement applications filed by the revenue have been dismissed by the Tribunal on the ground that the appeals filed by the assessee before it related only to turnovers of canteen sales, the subject-matter of assessment under section 16, and that the revenue cannot seek to vacate the exemption granted by the assessing authority in its original orders of assessment, which were not under challenge before the Tribunal, by way of filing enhancement petitions in appeals filed against orders made under section 16. This view of the Tribunal is questioned by the revenue before us.