DEVI SPINNING MILLS LTD Vs. APPELLATE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner filed the original petition invoking the jurisdiction of Section 7 of the Special Tribunal Act seeking for the relief to call for the records of the case in MP No. 121/2000 dated 27. 09. 2002 relating to the petitioner for the assessment year 1994-1995 on the file of the first respondent-The appellate Assistant Commissioner (C. T.), Salem, quash the same and direct the first respondent to dispense with the payment of the admitted tax relating to the assessment year 1994-1995 and admit the appeal filed on 05. 06. 2000 and that OP stands converted to this writ petition on being transferred to the file of this Court.

(2.) THE brief facts for disposal are as follows: for the assessment year 1994-1995, the petitioner was assessed to tax by the proceedings dated 31. 03. 2000 levying the tax, surcharge 15% on the tax due and additional sales tax, totalling a sum of Rs. 20,82,681/- after adjusting the payment originally made. As against which, the petitioner filed an appeal on 03. 06. 2000. It appears that the requirement of Section 31 of the appeal provision i. e. , payment of 25% of the disputed tax has not been made by the petitioner on the premise that the petitioner company was declared as a sick industry under the Sick Industrial Companies Act. The petitioner need not pay the amount to maintain the appeal. In that regard, a miscellaneous petition in M. P. No. 121 of 2000 has been filed and that was taken up for orders and by passing the impugned order dated 27. 09. 2002, the Appellate Authority negatived the request of the petitioner for entertaining the appeal filed under Section 31 of the TNGST Act without payment of the admitted tax, which is a sine qua non or condition precedent for maintaining the appeal. The said order is canvassed by filing O. P. The O. P. was entertained in the year 2003 and kept pending and thereupon after the abolition of the Tribunal, the above O. P stands transferred and came up before this Court for orders today.

(3.) THE learned counsel for the petitioner contends that this Court while exercising jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, to sub-serve the ends of justice, can pass an order directing the authorities to entertain the appeal even without payment of admitted tax, by relying on the following decisions: