TMI Blog1984 (8) TMI 300X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... id orders passed by the Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer, Jaipur City Circle A, Special Ward and the said appeals were allowed by the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) I, Commercial Taxes, Jaipur. Feeling aggrieved by the aforesaid order passed by the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) I, Commercial Taxes, the Commercial Taxes Officer, Special Circle II, Jaipur filed two revision petitions in respect of the assessment years 1964-65 and 1965-66. The said revision petitions were dismissed as incompetent by the learned single Member of the Board of Revenue by order dated 27th February, 1974 on the ground that under section 14 of the Act the revision could only be filed by the assessing authority and that the Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer, Jaipur City Circle A (Special Ward) who was the assessing authority in respect of the assessment years in question, alone could have filed the revision petitions and that the Commercial Taxes Officer, Special Circle II, Jaipur was not the assessing authority of the assessee for the relevant period and therefore, he could not have filed the revisions. Against the aforesaid order of the learned single member of the Board of Revenue, special appeals were ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ctment of Act No. 9 of 1976, we are concerned with the definition of "assessing authority" as it stood prior to the amendment introduced by Act No. 9 of 1976. Section 10 of the Act makes provision for assessment and determination of tax by the assessing authority. Section 11 provides for recovery by the assessing authority of the tax determined as payable by the assessee. Section 12 provides for reopening of the assessment by the assessing authority in cases where whole or any part of the business of a dealer has escaped assessment to the tax, or if the registration fee or exemption fee has escaped levy or has been assessed at too low a rate in any year. Sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Act at the relevant time provided that the Board of Revenue may, on being moved by the assessing authority, call for and examine the record of any proceedings under this Act and if it considers that any order is illegal or improper or erroneous, it may pass such orders as it may think fit. The proviso to sub-section (5) of section 14 empowered the Board of Revenue to stay the recovery of the disputed amount of tax or any part thereof pending disposal of the revision if the assessee furnishes s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... greement with the submissions of Shri Bafna and we are unable to accept the contentions of Shri Singhal. A perusal of section 2(b) of the Act, as it stood at the relevant time, shows that the expression "assessing authority" had used the words "in relation to a dealer means the Commercial Taxes Officer or Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer having jurisdiction". While considering the aforesaid definition of "assessing authority" under section 2(b) of the Act, it is necessary to lay stress on the words "in relation to a dealer" and "having jurisdiction ". These words indicate that the assessing authority has been defined with reference to the dealer. The words "having jurisdiction" indicate that the Commercial Taxes Officer or the Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer who had jurisdiction in relation to the dealer was the assessing authority in so far as that dealer is concerned. In other words these expressions mean that the assessing authority who had jurisdiction over a particular dealer at a particular time was the assessing authority for that dealer at that time. If the provisions of section 11 of the Act which provide for recovery of the tax determined are examined it would be ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... section 2(b) of the Act with reference to the dealer and not with reference to the assessment year which indicates that the expression "assessing authority" has to be construed in relation to the dealer or the assessee and not with reference to the assessment year and that the officer who has jurisdiction over a particular dealer is the assessing authority in so far as the said dealer is concerned. We are also unable to accept the contention of Shri Singhal that an officer other than the officer who had passed the original order of assessment could be regarded as the assessing. authority for the purpose of section 14 of the Act, only when the assessment case has been duly transferred to him under rule 52 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Rules. It is no doubt true that rule 52 of the Rules makes provision for transfer of a case from one assessing authority to another and in view of the explanation to the said rule, a case which has been completed can also be transferred and therefore, it is permissible for the transfer of a case from one assessing authority to another assessing authority after the assessment order has been passed. This would only mean that the jurisdiction in respect of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... relation to said dealer. In such cases of reorganisation and reallocation the jurisdiction is acquired by the other officer by virtue of the order of reorganisation and reallocation and it is not necessary to pass orders for transfer of cases from one officer to another under rule 52 of the Rules. In other words, apart from acquisition of jurisdiction by virtue of transfer of a case under rule 52 of the Rules an officer also acquires jurisdiction over a particular dealer by virtue of reorganisation and reallocation of work in accordance with the provisions of rules 3 and 4 of the Rules and in such an event the officer who has thus acquired the jurisdiction over the dealer is to be treated as the assessing authority in relation to said dealer for all purposes including the filing of the revision petition under section 14(1) of the Act. In the present case it appears that after the assessment orders had been passed by the Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer, Jaipur City Circle A (Special Ward) the office of the Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer, Jaipur City Circle A (Special Ward) was abolished and the file was sent to the Commercial Taxes Officer B, Jaipur and subsequently in Augu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng authority has to initiate the proceedings for the levy of penalty and not whether the same person or officer, who had made the assessment. " We have carefully perused the decisions on which relience has been placed by Shri Singhal but in our opinion the said decisions have no application to the present case. We may also mention that after the Division Bench of the Board of Revenue passed the order dated 18th February, 1974 dismissing the special appeals of the Commercial Taxes Officer, Special Circle, Jaipur in the present case, this very question arose before the Board of Revenue in A.C.T.O., Ward III, Circle D, Jaipur v. Raj. jewellers, Cutters Co-op. Society 1978 RRD 498 and A.C.T.O., Ward II, Circle B, Jaipur v. Phoolchand Gangaram 1979 RRD 130 and in both the cases the Board of Revenue has taken the view that for the purpose of filing a revision under section 14(1) of the Act, the assessing authority would be the officer having jurisdiction at the time the revision is to be filed. In the result the question referred to is answered in the negative and it is held that under the facts and circumstances of the case, the Board of Revenue was not right in holding that the rev ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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