PUBLIC PROSECUTOR ANDHRA Vs. BHAVIGADDA THIMMIAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals are filed by the State against the acquittal of the respondent and involve the construction of Section 15(b) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act of 1939. The respondent who is a master weaver of Kosagi (Kurnool District) was assessed to sales-tax for the years 1949-50 and 1950-51. The assessments were confirmed by the Sale-tax Appellate Tribunal on appeal. The respondent paid only a portion of the tax and defaulted in payment of the balance. This led the assessing authority to prosecute him before the S.D.M. Adoni. By way of defence, the respondent pleaded that assessment made by the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer was not correct. The S.D.M. upheld the objections of the respondent and acquitted him Originally this came on for hearing before a simple Judge who referred it to a Bench having regard to the importance of the matter and the Bench in its turn has placed it before the Full Bench for the same reason.

(2.) The questions that are referred to the Pall Bench are: (1) Whether, in a prosecution under Section 15(b) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, it is open to question the validity of the assessment made under the Act? (2) Whether. In a prosecution under Section 15(b) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, the Criminal Court has jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the correctness of the amount of tax assessed under the Act? As the controversy centres round the interpretation of Section 15(b), it is useful to extract the terms thereof, omitting the unnecessary portion : "Any person who * * * (b) falls to pay within the time allowed, any tax assessed On him or any penalty levied or any fee due from him under this Act, * * * Shali, on conviction by a Magistrate of the first class, be liable to be punished with simple imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both and in the case of conviction under Clause (b) or (d) the Magistrate shall specify in the order the tax penalty, fee or other amount, which the person convicted has failed or evaded to pay, and the tax, penalty, fee or amount so specified shall be recoverable as if it were a fine."

(3.) We will here notice Section 15-b as it stood prior to its amendment and the legislative changes that occurred in the year 1948. Section 15 prior to its amendment read as "fails to pay the tax due from him within the time allowed". It is not necessary for us to refer to other change in that Section, The words "any tax assessed on mm" were substituted for die words "tax due from him" by Section 11(1) of the Madras General Sales Tax (Amendment) Act 1947 (XXV of 1947). By the same Act Section 16-A was added. It is in these words : "The validity of the assessment of any tax, or of the levy of any fee or other amount, made under this Act, or the liability of any person to pay any tax, fee or other amount so assessed or levied shall not be questioned in any Criminal Court in any prosecution or other proceedings, whether under this Act or otherwise."