NIVAS TALKIES Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS writ petition on behalf of M/s Nivas Talkies and M/s Shankar Talkies, described as proprietorship firms of Shri Ramesh Kumar Poddar, proprietor of cinema shows doing business at Musabani in the district of Singhbhum East, is directed against the notices dated 5.1.94 issued by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, Singhbhum Circle, Jamshedpur, asking the petitioners to show cause why tax be not re -as -sessed under section 19 of the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 in the light of the audit objection.

(2.) IT may.be stated at the outset that the dispute involved in this case relates to payment of entertatinment tax, governed by the Entertainments Tax Act, 1948, hereinafter referred to as 'the Act ', section 13B of which contains provisions regarding escaped assessment para materia with those of section 19 of the Bihar Finance Act. However, as would appear from the following discussion, this aspect of the matter is completely irrelevant for decision i of this case.

(3.) THE submissions aforesaid are based on wrong assumptions and, if I nay say so are completely out of place. The arguments would have been worth consideration had this been a case of reassessment under section 13B of the Act. The petitioners, admittedly, had opted for compounding of their entertainment tax liability under section 3B of the Act. Having done so, so long as the Notification under section 3A of the Act remains in force, the provisions relating to assessment, reassessment or escaped asses -ment are not applicable. This however does not mean that the impugned notice becomes illegal. In order to appreciate the point at issue it would be proper to notice, briefly, the scheme of the Act and some of its relevant provisions as follows.