TMI Blog2021 (9) TMI 1152X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... duced with the object of consolidating and amending the law relating to the levy and collection of tax on the sale and purchase of certain goods in the State of Maharashtra. A complete machinery is envisaged for the purposes of levy of tax and its collection, which is in the nature of a liability for the assessee, as well as providing avenues to seek relief in respect of improper or erroneous orders made by the authorities vested with power to levy and collect tax, which is in the nature of a right of the assessee. The MVAT requires the relevant authority, at or about the time an adjudication is in progress, to ascertain facts and apply the law that are applicable to a particular situation, to return findings on each and every point that would arise in course of the proceedings and to end his order by recording his conclusions. Invocation of the High Court s power to issue high prerogative writs under Article 226 of the Constitution in matters relating to levy and collection of tax, in view of such fora made available by the statute, ought not to be permitted as a matter of course or else the will of the people expressed by the legislature in the relevant enactment would be rend ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ition. Certainly, a litigant cannot knock the doors of the High Court at leisure after lapse of the time period for preferring an appeal. In such a case, the Court may refuse to exercise its discretionary power. We may profitably refer to the decision of the Supreme Court reported in AIR 1961 SC 1506 [A.V. Venkateswaran, Collector of Customs, Bombay vs. Ramchand Sobhraj Wadhwani and Another], where it has been held that: 12. we must express our dissent from the reasoning by which the learned Judges of the High Court held that the writ petitioner was absolved from the normal obligation to exhaust his statutory remedies before invoking the jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. If a petitioner has disabled himself from availing himself of the statutory remedy by his own fault in not doing so within the prescribed time, he cannot certainly be permitted to urge that as a ground for the Court dealing with his petition under Article 226 to exercise its discretion in his favour. Indeed, the second passage extracted from the judgment of the learned C.J. in Mohammed Nooh (AIR 1958 SC 86) with its reference to the right to appeal being lost throug ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nder peculiar circumstances . The said decision is, therefore, one which turns on its facts and is, thus, not applicable here. 9. It would not be inapt, at this juncture, to notice certain other decisions of the Supreme Court in relation to the approach to be adopted by the High Courts in exercising jurisdiction under Article 226, while in seisin of proceedings challenging orders passed under taxing statutes without the suitor having exhausted the alternative remedy made available by the statute under which the impugned order has been made. 10. In the decision reported in AIR 1966 SC 142 [Sales Tax Offficer vs. Shiv Ratan G. Mohatta], the Supreme Court was considering an appeal carried against an order of the Rajasthan High Court quashing an order passed by the Sales Tax Officer holding that the writ petitioners had collected and retained certain amount, which should have gone to the Government. Although the issues involved in the appeal were decided on merits, the Court observed as follows: 12. We are of the opinion that the High Court should have declined to entertain the petition. No exceptional circumstances exist in this case to warrant the exercise of the extra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... h Court will never entertain a petition against the order of the Taxing Officer. The High Court has undoubtedly jurisdiction to decide whether a statute under which a tax is sought to be levied is within the legislative competence of the legislature enacting it or whether the statute defies constitutional restrictions or infringes any fundamental rights, or whether the taxing authority has arrogated to himself power which he does not possess, or has committed a serious error of procedure which has affected the validity of his conclusion or even where the taxing authority threatens to recover tax on an interpretation of the statute which is erroneous. The High Court may also in appropriate cases determine the exigibility to tax of transactions the nature of which is admitted, but the High Court normally does not proceed to ascertain the nature of a transaction which is alleged to be taxable. The High Court leaves it to the tax payer to obtain an adjudication from the taxing authorities in the first instance. 12. The Supreme Court in its decision reported in (1983) 2 SCC 433 [Titaghur Paper Mills Co. Ltd. vs. State of Orissa], was considering the order under challenge passed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that the High Court will not entertain a petition under Article 226 of the Constitution if an effective alternative remedy is available to the aggrieved person or the statute under which the action complained of has been taken itself contains a mechanism for redressal of grievance still holds the field. Therefore, when a statutory forum is created by law for redressal of grievances, a writ petition should not be entertained ignoring the statutory dispensation. 14. Reading of the aforesaid authorities makes the position clear that insofar as taxing statutes are concerned, interference by a writ court should be few and far between. It cannot be disputed that the MVAT Act was introduced with the object of consolidating and amending the law relating to the levy and collection of tax on the sale and purchase of certain goods in the State of Maharashtra. A complete machinery is envisaged for the purposes of levy of tax and its collection, which is in the nature of a liability for the assessee, as well as providing avenues to seek relief in respect of improper or erroneous orders made by the authorities vested with power to levy and collect tax, which is in the nature of a right of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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