GANDHI SONS LTD Vs. STATE OF MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a revision petition filed by the assessees against the order of the Sales- tax Appellate Tribunal.

(2.) The assessees are dealers, among others in pepper having their head office at Bombay and a branch at Kozhikkode. In respect of their turnover for the assessment year 1950-51 they submitted returns in form A-3 disclosing sales to the extent of Rs. 3,94,788-11-0 to the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Calicut who was the assessing officer. Out of this figure they claimed exemption in respect of a turnover of Rs. 4054-1-9. They also produced their ledger, day book, journals etc., to the assessing officer who checked up their accounts and substantially accepted their returns and assessed them on a net turnover of Rs. 3,93,486-13-6 by his order dated 15-12-1951. Subsequently the Commercial Tax Officer Malabar North, called for and examined the record of the assessment order passed by the Deputy Commercial tax Officer under Section 12(1)(i), Madras General Sales-tax Act and finding that certain sales effected by the assessees which had been disclosed in their accounts had been incorrectly treated as not liable to inclusion in their turnover, issued notice to the assessees on 28-2-1953 why the assessment should not be rectified. After verifying the figures from the accounts which were called for, he added a sum of Rs. 507,753-9-0 to the assessable turnover and a demand for tax on this basis followed.

(3.) The assessees took this order in appeal before the Sales-tax Tribunal where they raised two points for its consideration. The first was that the Commercial Tax Officer had no jurisdiction to revise the assessment in the manner in which ho had done and the second that on the merits the turnover of the sales which were included in their assessment by the Commercial Tax Officer was exempt from inclusion under Article 286(1)(b) of the Constitution as being sales "in the course of export." The Appellate Tribunal rejected both the contentions and confirmed the order passed by the Commercial Tax Officer. Hence the revision.