BIDASARIA BROTHERS Vs. ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER OF COMMERCIAL TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY filing this writ under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner seeks to assail the two orders, both dated February 7, 2003 annexures H and H-II), passed by the Upper Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Indore in two revisions being No. 74/2002/indore/state and 36/2002/indore/ Central. Both these revisions which arose out of an order, passed by the Assistant Commissioner on September 26, 1997 in case Nos. 33 and 31 of 1994 have been dismissed on the ground of limitation.

(2.) THE dispute in these two cases relates to the period April 1, 1993 to March 31, 1994. It is relating to imposition of penalty under Commercial Tax Act (formerly as M. P. G. S. T. Act) and Central Sales Tax Act. In the opinion of revisionary authority, the revision filed by the petitioner against the order imposing penalty was barred by time and hence, those revisions were dismissed as being barred by limitation. As a consequence, the question involved in the revision on the merits of the issue namely, whether penalty was rightly imposed or in other words, whether a case for imposing penalty on the facts of the case was made out or not ? could not be gone into in these revisions. As stated supra, it is against these orders (common though separately passed), the petitioner has come up in this writ.

(3.) HEARD Shri G. M. Chakekar, learned Senior Counsel with Shri Pancholia, learned counsel for the petitioner and Shri S. Mukati, learned Government Advocate for the respondents.