TMI Blog1977 (3) TMI 128X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The High Court was, therefore, right in determining the question posed, in favour of the assessees and against the revenue. - C.A. No. 721 of 1972, C.W. No. 1831 of 1968 - - - Dated:- 1-3-1977 - BHAGWATI P.N., SARKARIA R.S. AND MURTAZA FAZAL ALI S. JJ. R.S. Sharma and A.D. Mathur, Advocates, for the respondent. K.S. Suri, Advocate, for the appellants. -------------------------------------------------- The judgment of the Court was delivered by SARKARIA, J.- The short question involved in this appeal on certificate, directed against a judgment of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana is: Whether the sales made to a dealer who has applied for registration under the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, before h ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the registration certificate, the same having been issued only on March 27, 1966. The assessees impugned the validity of this order of the Assessing Authority by a writ petition in the High Court, under articles 226/227 of the Constitution. The High Court held that since the certificate of registration had been granted with effect from January 1, 1966, which was the date of the application, it could not be said that the sales during this period commencing from January 1, 1966, were made to an unregistered dealer. It further noted that apart from the assessees, the purchasing dealer had also been taxed with regard to the same transactions resulting in double taxation which was against the basic scheme of the Act, the Rules and the notifi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... equired by sub-section (1) to be registered dealer shall make application in this behalf in the prescribed manner to the prescribed authority. (3) If the said authority is satisfied that an application for registration is in order, he shall, in accordance with such rules and on payment of such fees as may be prescribed, register the applicant and grant him a certificate of registration in the prescribed form which may specify the class or classes of goods for the purposes of sub-clause (ii) of clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 5........... . (5) When any dealer has paid the amount of penalty imposed under section 23 in respect of any contravention of sub-section (1) of this section, the Commissioner shall register such dealer and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... d shall issue a certificate of registration in form S.T. III or S.T. IV according as the dealer has one or more than one place of business in Punjab." Rule 5 was amended by Punjab Government Notification No. GSR- 237/PA 46/48/S-27/Amd. (5)/66 dated October 10, 1966, and in place of the last sentence commencing with the words "in form S.T......" of the old rule, the following was substituted: "...in form S. T. IV which shall be valid from the date of receipt of application for registration by the Assessing Authority or from the date of commencement of the liability to pay tax, whichever is later." Rule 26 provides: "A dealer, who wishes to deduct from his gross turnover the amount in respect of a sale on the ground that he is entitled ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 7. A compliance with the aforesaid mandatory requirement of section 7(1) and rule 26, form S. T. XXII-proceeds the argument-could be possible only if at the time of the sales in question, the purchasing dealer as well as the selling dealer, both, were in actual possession of the requisite registration certificates. Shri Suri has adopted the reasoning of the Sales Tax Tribunal in Appeal No. 109 of 1967-68 (Darshan Soap Mills, Batala Road, Amritsar v. The State) decided on February 12, 1968. It is contended that rule 5, as it stood at the material time, did not empower the registering authority to grant the registration certificate retrospectively, with effect from the date of the application. It is maintained such a power was conferred o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eep his business closed under pain of being punished under section 23(1) and await indefinitely the pleasure and leisure of the prescribed authority in issuing the registration certificate. Adoption of such a construction would be to make the applicant liable to punishment for the laches and delays of the authority and its office". As regards the requirement enjoined by the form prescribed under rule 26, to enter the number of the registration certificate in the declaration of the purchasing dealer at the time of sale, the same has to be viewed with reasonable flexibility and reconciled with rule 5 as clarified by the notification dated October 10, 1966. Thus construed harmoniously with the related statutory provisions, the requirement of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
