KALE SINGH Vs. ASSISTANT SUGAR COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner pray for quashing the assessment order dated 26-3-77 passed by the Assessing Officer under the Provisions of U. P. Sugarcane (Purchase Tax) Act, 1961 (briefly the Act) and orders dated 25-7-77 and 10-9-81 passed by the Appellate Authority i.e. Assistant Sugarcane Commissioner under the Act.

(2.) THE relevant facts lie within narrow compass. THE Assessing Officer under the Act assessed certain amount of purchase tax on the petitioners for the month of February, 1977. THE stand of the petitioners was that they had crushed only that sugarcane which they had grown in their own fields and, therefore, they were not liable to pay any purchase tax under the Act. Aggrieved by the assessment order dated 26-3-77 the assessees (the present petitioners) preferred appeal under sub-section (5) of Section 3 of the Act. This appeal was dismissed by the Assistant Sugar Commissioner by order dated 25-7-77 on the ground that the memorandum of appeal had not been filed in duplicate as required under sub-rule (1) of rule 24 of the Rules framed under the Act. THE present petitioners moved an application for setting aside this dismissal order and for restoration of the appeal to its original number but his application was rejected by the appellate authority by order dated 10-9-81 with the observation that there was no provision for a reconsideration of the appeal and for its restoration.

(3.) THE prayer for quashing the order of assessment dated 26-3-77 in this writ petition is, in my opinion, not well founded. THE assessment order is under challenge in the appeal and its legality and propriety will be considered in the appeal itself.