CHAMPATLAL Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition is filed seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus declaring that rule 45(1-B) of the A.P. General Sales Tax Rules. 1957 (in short, "the Rules") as illegal, unconstitutional and ultra virus of the main provisions of the A.P. General Sales Tax Act (6 of 1957) and consequently to direct the respondents not to take any action against the petitioner as per the notice issued by the third respondent in Rc. No. 20/87, dated January 20, 1987.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are : The petitioner belongs to Marwadi community. He was born in Rajasthan State. He migrated to the State of Andhra Pradesh and settled in Vijayawada, Krishna district. The petitioner has been doing business in Vijayawada. He has been maintaining the accounts in Hindi by using Devanagari form of numericals in the books of accounts. The books of accounts maintained by him are being produced before the income-tax, central excise and sales tax authorities for scrutiny. None of the authorities have raised any objection so far for maintaining the numericals in Marwadi language. The third respondent issued the impugned notice directing the petitioner to maintain his accounts using international numericals only, even though the description is being written in a language other than English. The said notice was received by the petitioner on January 24, 1987. The petitioner made a request on March 30, 1987 to the third respondent requesting him to drop the proceedings. Since the third respondent threatened the petitioner that coercive steps will be taken under the provisions of the APGST Act, if the impugned order is not followed, the petitioner filed the present writ petition seeking the above relief.

(3.) A counter-affidavit is filed on behalf of the respondents contending as follows. The respondent-authorities are not insisting the petitioner to maintain the accounts using international language; but directed the petitioner to adopt international numericals as per rule 45(1-B) of the Rules as they found it difficult to follow Devanagari numericals. It is further stated that the impugned notice is only a show cause notice, the petitioner would have filed his objections to the same before the respondent-authorities. The Government also, in its Memo No. 569/S1/87-2, Revenue, dated March 24, 1987, requested the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes to issue necessary instructions to the Commercial Taxes Officers to see the provisions regarding the language and numericals to be adopted in maintaining the accounts by the dealers are implemented strictly. There are no merits in the writ petition and the same is liable to be dismissed.