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TMI Blog1966 (2) TMI 21X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the claim for Rs. 7,477-9-1 with interest and proportionate costs, and the High Court of Kerala confirmed that decree. In this appeal with special leave, on behalf of the State of Kerala, the principal ground which falls to be determined is whether the jurisdiction of the civil court to try the suit is excluded. Section 23A of the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act (11 of 1125 M.E.) provides that: "No suit or other civil proceeding shall, except as expressly provided in this Act, be instituted in any court to set aside or modify any assessment made under this Act." But this express bar on which counsel for the State relied did not exclude the jurisdiction of the civil court, for section 23A was incorporated in the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act by Act 18 of 1955 after the suit was instituted by the respondents, and by section 23A as incorporated, the jurisdiction of the civil court to try a suit properly instituted before it was enacted is not ousted. Counsel for the respondents submitted that in the absence of an express provision in the Act excluding the jurisdiction of the civil court, the courts below were right in holding that the suit was maintainable, and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... vision was necessary in order to exclude jurisdiction in a civil court to set aside or modify an assessment." In delivering the judgment of the majority in K. S. Venkataraman & Co. (P.) Ltd. v. State of Madras, Subba Rao J. observed: "If a statute imposes a liability and creates an effective machinery for deciding questions of law or fact arising in regard to that liability, it may, by necessary implication, bar the maintainability of a civil suit in respect of the said liability. A statute may also confer exclusive jurisdiction on the authorities constituting the said machinery to decide finally a jurisdictional fact thereby excluding by necessary implication the jurisdiction of a civil court in that regard." In a case recently decided by this court, Kamala Mills Ltd. v. State of Bombay, exclusion of the jurisdiction of the civil court to entertain and decide suits for refund of tax paid fell to be determined. In that case a dealer was assessed to tax under the Bombay Sales Tax Act (5 of 1946), in respect of " outside sales " which by virtue of the ban imposed by article 286 of the Constitution were not taxable. The dealer sued to recover the tax paid by him. This court held th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... have power to decide all questions arising before them, and the orders of the appellate authorities subject to the exercise of revisional jurisdiction under section 15 are declared final. Liability to pay tax arises under and by virtue of the provisions of the Act, and the quantum of liability may be determined under the Act alone. It is true that in Kamala Mills case reliance was placed on behalf of the claimant upon, Basappa's case, and the following observations were made by the court: "In Provincial Government of Madras (now Andhra Pradesh) v. J. S. Basappa it was held by this court that the finality attached to orders passed in appeal by section 11(4) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act (IX of 1939) was a finality for the purposes of the said Act and did not make valid an action which was not warranted by the Act, as, for example, the levy of tax on a commodity which was not taxed at all or was exempt. We ought to add that this decision was based on the fact that the said Act at the relevant time did not contain section 18A which came into force on May 15, 1951 ; and it was section 18A which was construed by this court in Firm of Illuri Subbayya Chetty & Sons. " In Basappa' ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in conformity with the fundamental principles of judicial procedure, the civil courts have jurisdiction to examine those cases : Secretary of State for India v. Mask & Co. Counsel for the respondents urged that the case of the respondents fell within that exception, since the Sales Tax Officer in imposing tax liability acted in defiance of the mandatory provisions of the Act and in support of the argument he placed reliance upon rule 7 of the Rules framed under the Act and the definition of " turnover " under the Act. Under the Act, sales-tax is charged for the year at the prescribed rates on the total turnover of the dealer. The Government of Travancore-Cochin promulgated Rules in exercise of powers under section 24 of the Travancore-Cochin General Sales Tax Act and rule 7 dealt with computation of " net turnover ". In rule 7(1) by clauses (a) to (k) certain exemptions admissible in the computation of the net turnover were set out. By notification No. SRI-1643-51-RD dated March 31, 1951, it was directed that with effect from April 1, 1951, the following clause shall be added : "(1) all amounts of sales tax collected by the dealer." By this amendment in the computation of the tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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