TMI Blog1971 (8) TMI 208X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... read with rule 26 of the Rules made under the Act had occurred. The petitioner did pay the compounding fee of Rs. 100 but he filed a revision petition to the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes under section 33 of the Act questioning the propriety of the levy of the compounding fee. That was dismissed. A further revision to the Board of Revenue, Madras, was not successful. The petitioner has come up to this court under article 226 of the Constitution stating that in cases where the statutory authorities decide to exercise their option to demand a composition fee instead of prosecuting the person for the offence with which he is charged, then it is imperative that before any such action is initiated, he should have been directed to do so ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e above event happened, reasonably suspected the petitioner as having committed an offence under the Act. He gave him the option to pay the compounding fee which was indeed paid by the petitioner. The petitioner's case is that no demand for such a composition fee could be made unless so directed by the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and the Board of Revenue. Reliance is placed upon rule 53 of the Rules made under the Act. Rule 53 runs as follows: "The Assistant Commercial Tax Officer, the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, the joint Commercial Tax Officer and the Commercial Tax Officer may exercise the powers specified in section 46 of the Act subject to the control and direction of the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent judgment which he has to exercise by himself under the statute. As a matter of fact, the Board of Revenue has made this position very clear in its order when it said that the direction if at all which the Board of Revenue could give can only be a general direction about the nature and class of the offences that could be compounded, and the nature and class of offences that could not be compounded, but should be prosecuted in a criminal court, and generally the range of compounding fees in a particular class of offences. It is also made clear that such directions have been issued without interfering with the individual discretion and judgment of the officers concerned though such directions have been kept as confidential instructions. Th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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