TMI Blog1983 (7) TMI 281X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cent. other than those falling under any other entry. 118.. Containers other than gunnies. Four per cent." 2.. The petitioner is a dealer registered under the provisions of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act. For the assessment year 1975-76 the petitioner submitted the return of turnover declaring taxable turnover at Rs. 23,758.88 out of which the turnover of Rs. 19,938.68 pertains to sales of pickle jars. It was contended before the assessing authority that that turnover should be brought to tax at the rate of 4 per cent under entry 118. But the assessing authority did not accept that contention. That turnover was taxed at 8 per cent treating the pickle jars as chinaware or porcelainware under entry 112. The petitioner preferred an appeal to ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... are made of chinaclay fall under entry 112 of the Second Schedule taxable at 8 per cent." 4.. The first submission of Mr. E.R. Indrakumar in this revision petition is that the circular issued by the Commissioner treating the jars taxable at 4 per cent under entry 118 of the Second Schedule to the Act, is binding on all the authorities constituted under the Act and it is not open to them to deviate from the said circular and tax the turnover of jars under entry 112 at 8 per cent. Before dealing with this contention, it is necessary to state that the said circular was withdrawn by the Commissioner in 1979. But, the assessment year concerned in this case is admittedly prior to 1979. Therefore, the withdrawal of that circular has no cons ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e statutory authorities. We are exercising a revisional jurisdiction under section 23 of the Act. We cannot therefore altogether ignore the circular issued by the competent authority and examine the question with pristine purity. 7.. Section 3-A of the Act is similar to section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. While dealing with the circulars issued by the Central Board of Revenue under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, the Supreme Court, at least in three decisions, has stated that such circulars are binding on all officers and persons employed in the execution of the Income-tax Act, even if the circulars deviate from the provisions of the Act [See: (i) Naunit Lal C. Javeri v. K.K. Sen Appellate Assistant Commissioner [1965] 56 ITR 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... has been succinctly and felicitously expressed in Crawford on Statutory Construction, 1940 Edn., where it is stated in paragraph 219 that 'administrative construction (i.e., contemporaneous construction placed by administrative or executive officers charged with executing a statute) generally should be clearly wrong before it is overturned; such a construction, commonly referred to as practical construction, although non-controlling, is nevertheless entitled to considerable weight, it is highly persuasive'. The validity of this rule was also recognised in Baleshwar Bagarti v. Bhagirathi Dass [1908] ILR 35 Cal 701, 713, where Mookerjee, J., stated the rule in these terms: 'It is a well-settled principle of interpretation that courts in co ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... taken in the previous assessment years up to 1974-75 in the case of the same assessee. Consistency in the judicial administration should not ordinarily be sacrificed unless there is compelling reason. The Tribunal, while taking a different view, has not given any justifiable reason except stating that the circular of the Commissioner was not applicable to the case. That could hardly be said to be a reason to be given by a quasi-judicial authority. 11.. In the result, this petition is allowed, the orders of the authorities are set aside and the matter stands remitted to the assessing authority to modify the assessment order by taxing the turnover relating to the sale of the pickle jars under entry 118 of the Second Schedule to the Act. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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