COMMISSIONER SALES TAX Vs. GULABCHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this reference under Section 44 of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958, at the instance of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, the question which we have been asked to decide is:

(2.) THE Sales Tax Officer, Bilaspur, while making an order of assessment of sales tax against the opponent Gulabchand for the period 27th Oct. 1954 to 14th November 1955 under the Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Act, 1947 (hereinafter referred to as the Act imposed on the Assessee a penalty of Rs. 500 under Section 10(3) of the Act for his failure to submit returns. The penalty was imposed with the previous sanction of the Regional Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Bilaspur. This order imposing penalty on the Assessee was set aside in appeal by the Board of Revenue on the ground that it was invalid inasmuch as the sanction of the Commissioner of Sales Tax to the imposition of the penalty was not obtained as required by the proviso to Section 16 of the Act. Thereafter, the Commissioner of Sales Tax moved the Board of Revenue for referring the case to this Court.

(3.) RULE 67 of the Central Provinces and Berar Sales Tax Rules, 1947, dealt with the delegation of the Commissioner's powers. It provided that the Commissioner shall not delegate any powers other than those enumerated in the rule in respect of the sections mentioned therein, nor shall he delegate any power specified in column (3) of the rule to any officer below the rank specified in the corresponding entry in column (4) or contrary to the conditions mentioned therein. By this rule the power to impose a penalty under Section 10 on a dealer for his failure to furnish returns for any period within the prescribed time to the prescribed authority could be delegated only to the Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Sales Tax Officer and Assistant Sales Tax Officer; and the first two functionaries could exercise this power with the previous approval of the Commissioner and the other two could exercise it with the previous approval of the Assistant Commissioner. It seems that the power to impose penalty under Section 10 was actually delegated to the Sales Tax Officer in terms of Rule 67.