DEWAN HANUMAN MANMOHAN Vs. STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a registered dealer in cloth. He feels aggrieved with the order passed by the Sales-Tax Appellate Tribunal, Andhra Pradesh, dated 23rd December, 1957 in T.A. No. 479 of 1957. The petitioner has filed this petition raising the following questions of law for decision by this Court :-

(2.) The assessee took the matter on appeal to the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Appellate), Hyderabad, urging among other things as follows :-

(3.) The Deputy Commissioner dismissed the appeal The petitioner filed an appeal before the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal. The latter also dismissed the appeal. We are dealing below with the grounds actually urged by the petitioner before us. Though the petitioner urged before the Deputy Commissioner and the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal that he ought to have been given one more opportunity for filing accounts, in this Court no such plea was put forward. Learned advocate for the petitioner frankly stated that he was not taking any such ground in this Court. He admitted that the refusal of the adjournment by the Sales Tax Officer on 15th February, 1957, may be treated as a good basis for an ex parte assessment, but contended that the assessment order suffered from the defects that no material is disclosed in it as the basis of the assessment and that no opportunity was given to him to represent as regards the quantum of turnover and tax which the Officer fixed. Rule 13 of the Hyderabad General-Sales Tax Act Rules runs as follows :-