COMMERCIAL TAXES OFFICER HANUMANGARH Vs. G C MALPANI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Board of Revenue for Rajasthan, Ajmer ("the Board"), has referred the following question, for the opinion of this Court : " Whether under the facts and circumstances of the case and while dealing with rectification matter, the Board of Revenue was justified in remanding the cases for reassessment under the provisions of section 9 (3) (b) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, and also when the non-applicant assessee had not preferred any appeal or revision against the assessment orders dated 16th September, 1966 ?"

(2.) FACTS first. The assessment of the firm M/s. Sushil Kumar Kamal Kant, Bhadra, was made by the Commercial Taxes Officer (C. T. O.), Hanumangarh, on September 16, 1966, in respect of the assessment years 1961-62, 1962-63, and 1963-64 under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (for short "the CST Act"), and a demand for Rs. 24,739. 58 was created against the firm. As the amount of the demand was not paid, the recovery proceedings were started against Gulab Chand Malpani, one of the partners of the firm M/s. Sushil Kumar Kamal Kant, Bhadra. Gulab Chand Malpani's properties were attached and they were proclaimed for sale. He, therefore, filed objections before the assessing authority that as the firm M/s. Sushil Kumar Kamal Kant, Bhadra, had already been dissolved, the assessment dated September 16, 1966, of the dissolved firm was a nullify and so, the recovery proceedings should be dropped. The C. T. O. vide his order dated December 2, 1972, overruled the objections. He opined that since no appeal or revision against the assessment order has been filed, the assessment order could not be challenged before him. Aggrieved, Gulab hand Malpani filed a revision before the Board, which was registered as Revision No. 5/73. In that revision, an application for staying the recovery was filed. On January 15, 1973, an interim order was passed in his favour. The single Member of the Board, by his order dated February 15, 1973, vacated the ad interim order and rejected the application for stay. A special appeal under section 14 (4a) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 ("the Act" herein), was filed, which was registered as Special Appeal No. 40/73 S. T. That special appeal was rejected on October 16, 1973. Gulab Chand Malpani did not remain satisfied with the order of rejection of the special appeal. He submitted an application for rectification under section 17 of the Act of the order dated October 16, 1973. The Division Bench of the Board accepted the application, vide its order dated October 4, 1974, and set aside its order dated October 16, 1973, and directed that Special Appeal No. 40/73 be restored to its original number and be listed for regular hearing before a Division Bench. Being dissatisfied, the C. T. O. filed reference application No. 5/75 under section 15 (1) of the Act on March 5, 1975 praying that the Board be directed to refer the following question of law to this Court : " Whether under the facts and circumstances of the cases, the Board of Revenue was justified in remanding the cases for reassessment under the provisions of section 9 (3) (b) of the Rajasthan Sales Act specially when the non-applicant assessee did not prefer any appeal or revision against the assessment orders ?"

(3.) THIS reference was pending on May, 1, 1985, when the Rajasthan Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, 1984 (No. 20 of 1984) ("the Amendment Act"), came into force and so, by virtue of section 13 (11) of the Amendment Act, the reference is deemed to be an application for revision under section 15 of the Act, as substituted by the Amendment Act. We, accordingly, propose to dispose it of as a revision petition.