KISHANCHAND GOVINDRAM Vs. COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS is an application under Section 44 (2) of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958. By this application, the petitioner seeks a direction that the Sales Tax Tribunal be directed to refer certain questions of law for the decision of this Court.

(2.) THE assessment in question is for the period 1st January, 1953 to 27th November, 1957, under Section 18 (6) of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958. On 20th November, 1957, the petitioner, Shri Kishanchand s. /o. Jeewatram, applied for registration of the business known as "kishanchand Govindram" showing himself as the proprietor. In column 2 of the application for registration, Shri Kishanchand included the name of his brother Govindram as the person having interest in the business; but the words in column 2, namely, " names and addresses of partners" were scored out. The business for which the certificate was applied was cloth business. When this application was presented, it appears that an enquiry was instituted. In the enquiry it was found that Jeewatram, the father of Kishanchand and Govindram, was carrying on the business of cloth from before 1952 as a karta. In the year 1952 it was found that the turnover of the business of the joint family exceeded Rs. 25,000. The liability to pay the tax was, therefore, determined with effect from 1st January, 1953. The Sales Tax Officer also came to the conclusion that the business in the name of "kishanchand Govindram", for which the registration was applied and was granted, was the business of the joint family of which Jeewatram was the karta and Kishanchand and Govindram were the coparceners. On this basis, the business known as "kishanchand Govindram" was assessed for the period 1st January, 1953 to 27th November, 1957, under Section 18 (6) of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958, and the tax liability was determined at Rs. 4,833. 51 np. inclusive of Rs. 100, the penalty imposed for carrying on business without obtaining registration.

(3.) THE order of the Sales Tax Officer was confirmed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Bilaspur, by order dated 4th July, 1962. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner, while confirming the order, relied on the admissions of Jeewatram to the effect that his sons were not doing any business independently of their own and that they were all living jointly with him and that his sons were also looking after the cloth business, which was being run by him, and that the same business continued unsuspended till 1958 when the business styled as "kishanchand Govindram" came into being. On the basis of the abovesaid admissions and also the statements in the application for registration, the Appellate Assistant Commissioner held : It is an accepted fact that a partnership business is not a separate legal entity and therefore the attempt by the appellant to show that the so-called partnership business made up of two brothers who were members of a Hindu undivided family was separate from that run by the karta of the family prior to the coming into being of this business cannot be accepted.