Writ Petition No. 9525 of 2002 · Madras High Court

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRASDated : 31-03-2010Coram THE HONOURABLE MRs. JUSTICE PRABHA SRIDEVANandTHE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P.P.S.JANARTHANA RAJAWRIT PETITION No. 9525 of 2002and W.P.M.P.No. 12915 of 2002M/s. Premier Corporationrep. by its ProprietorP.M.SeniappanNo.442-A, D.B.RoadR.S.PuramCoimbatore 641 002. ...Petitionervs.

The Tamil Nadu Taxation Special Tribunalrep. by its RegistrarSingaravelar MaligaiCollectorate CompoundChennai 600 001.

The Commercial Tax OfficerR.S.Puram West CircleCoimbatore....Respondents For Petitioner : Ms.R.Hemalatha For Respondents :Mr.K.RadhakrishnanGovernment Advocate Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to issue a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus to call for the records on the file of the first respondent herein in his order inO.P.No. 161 of 2001 dated 29.11.2001 quash the same and direct the second respondent herein to pass orders afresh for the year 1999-2000 under the TNGST Act, 1959 after considering the petition filed by the petitioner under Section 55 of the TNGST Act, 1959 dated13.02.2002. https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/

O R D E R (Order of the Court was made by Justice Prabha Sridevan) This Writ Petition has been filed against the order passed by the Tribunal dismissing the O.P.No. 161 of 2001 on 29.11.2001 and directing the petitioner to file an Appeal against the original assessment order.2. Ms.R.Hemalatha, the learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that for the year 1999-2000 the assessee reported turnover of more than Rs.40 lakhs. An assessment order was passed on21.11.2001. In the meantime, the records and documents of the petitioner had been seized by the Central Excise Intelligence. Therefore, the petitioner was unable to file relevant documents before the Assessing Officer and by way of abundant caution, he has filed a petition under Section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General SalesTax Act, 1959 (for short "TNGST Act, 1959"). According to the petitioner, till date, it has not been disposed of and that is why, he had to file an O.P. directly before the Tribunal for quashing the assessment order and for direction to consider the petition filed under Section 55 of the TNGST Act, 1959. The Tribunalproceeded under the misconception that Section 55 petition had been disposed of and directed the petitioner to file an appeal. According to the learned counsel for the petitioner this had resulted in the miscarriage of justice and what the Tribunal ought to have done is to grant the prayer sought for by the petitionerviz., for a direction to dispose of the petition under Section 55of the TNGST Act, 1959.

Mr.K.Radhakrishnan, the learned Government Advocatesubmitted that it is not even clear as to the date on which the petition has been filed and it is unlikely that a petition filed in2002 would be kept pending till date.

It is quite clear that both before the Tribunal as well as before us one of the prayer is for consideration of the petition filed under Section 55 of the TNGST Act, 1959. The said petition was filed sometime in 2002. Even pending the Writ Petition, the petitioner could have sought for a direction for an early disposal of the petition. But, the petitioner was quite content to leave the matter as it is for the past eight years. From the documents enclosed in the typed-set of-papers, it is seen that the CentralExcise Department had addressed a letter to the petitioner on01.03.2002 and requested the petitioner to furnish specific detailson the documents, which are required for Sales Tax Assessment and that he can take xerox copies of the same on any working day on prior intimation. We do not know whether till date the assesseehas taken advantage of the request and obtained xerox copies of the https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ documents. For this purpose alone he had filed a petition under Section 55 of the TNGST Act, 1959.

The Appellate Authority has the same powers as the OriginalAssessing Officer and it is co-extensive and not any whit less. Therefore, any documents that the petitioner wants to produce, he may produce before the Appellate Authority. The Tribunal had observed that if any appeal is filed as per the direction the time spent in pursuing the matter before the Special Tribunal shall be deducted. The same direction is given with regard to the time spent before this Court. The petitioner is granted two weeks time to file an appeal from the date on which the copy is received. TheAppellate Authority shall deal with the matter in accordance with law. The petitioner is permitted to produce before the AppellateAuthority all documents to support his case.

Subject to the above observations, this Writ Petition isdisposed of. Consequently, connected W.P.M.P.No. 12915 of 2002 isclosed. No costs. Sd/- Asst. Registrar. /true copy/ Sub Asst. Registrar. Paa To 1. The registrar Tamil Nadu Taxation Special TribunalSingaravelar MaligaiCollectorate CompoundChennai 600 001.2.The Commercial Tax OfficerR.S.Puram West CircleCoimbatore.1 cc to the Spl. Government Pleader, Sr. 21606 W.P.No. 9525 of 2002KK (CO)kk 12/4