TMI Blog1968 (12) TMI 85X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on payment of concessional rate of tax after furnishing 'C' Forms to the selling dealer. The Sales Tax Officer held that the dealer by making purchases of goods not specified in the certificate of registration on furnishing 'C' Forms deprived the Governrnent of its rightful revenue and committed the offence defined in section 10(b) of the Act. Instead of prosecuting the dealer for the offence, the Sales Tax Officer imposed upon it a penalty of Rs. 2,500 as permissible under section 10-A of the Act. In appeal filed by the dealer to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner, the penalty was reduced to a sum of Rs. 1,500. The dealer then went up in second appeal to the Tribunal, which was allowed and the order of imposition of penalty was wholly s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o this purpose is Form 'C' which is prescribed by rule 12 of the Central Sales Tax Rules, 1957. According to this form, the purchasing dealer certifies that the goods purchased are for resale, or use in manufacture etc., and are covered by registration certificate of the purchasing dealer. Section 10 of the Act provides for offences and clause (b) of it, with which we are concerned, reads "S. 10. If any person- * * * * (b) being a registered dealer, falsely represents when purchasing any class of goods that goods of such class are covered by his certificate of registration; or * * * * he shall be punishable with simple imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both; and when the offence is a continuing offen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... meaning an incorrect or untrue entry including even an entry which was innocently made false. In contrast to these cases, there are others where the word "false" has been used to cover only intentional falsehoods. As stated in Black's Law Dictionary (page 722): "In law, this word usually means something more than untrue; it means something designedly untrue and deceitful, and implies an intention to perpetrate some treachery or fraud: Hatcher v. Dunn102 Iowa 411; 71 N.W. 343; 36 L.R.A. 689.; Mason v. Association18 U.C.C.P. 19.; State v. Leonard73 Or. 451; 144 P. 113, 118. and State v. Smith63 Vt. 201; 22 A. 604. It implies either conscious wrong or culpable negligence, and signifies knowingly or negligently untrue: United States v. Ninet ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a particular enactment the word "false" is used in a restricted sense or in a wider sense would depend on the context in which it is used. Clause (b) of section 10 of the Central Sales Tax Act, with which we are concerned, uses the words "falsely represents" as an ingredient of a criminal offence, for which a penalty of imprisonment which may extend to six months is prescribed. We begin with a presumption that a guilty intent is an essential element of a statutory offence and this presumption is strengthened when the offence is made punishable with a sentence of imprisonment. This presumption can be rebutted by showing that the object of the statute would be defeated unless the language used in the enactment is construed in a wider sense t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The view that we have taken has also been taken by the Kerala High Court in Varghese and Sons v. Sales Tax Officer[1965] 16 S.T.C. 323. 4.. It was, however, urged by the learned Government Advocate that on the facts and circumstances of this case there could be no dispute whatsoever that some of the goods purchased by the dealer did not fall within the class or classes of goods entered in its certificate of registration and, therefore, the dealer in furnishing V Form in respect of those goods must be held to have knowingly and falsely represented when purchasing the goods that goods of that class were covered by its certificate of registration and the requirement of mens rea was satisfied. All that we need say on this point is that on ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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