Rules 6 and 54 of the U.P. Sales Tax Rules, 1948 the Rules to the extent they are relevant are reproduced hereunder Power of Assessment.
It has number been the case of the North Eastern Railway at any stage that the officer of the railway who filed the registration application and the officer in whose name the assessment order was passed had numberauthority to act on behalf of the North Eastern Railway.
The sales tax return was, however, filed by the Chief General Manager, Gorakhpur on the basis of which assessment proceedings were held and sales tax was imposed.
Both, the General Manager and the Controller of Stores filed revisions against the assessment orders.
In the assessment year 1965 66 an application for registration under the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 the Act was filed by the Chief Commercial Superintendent, North Eastern Railway, wherein the principal place of business was declared as Gorakhpur.
This appeal by way of special leave petition is against the judgment of the High Court.
It was further held that the railway authorities were number dealers as defined under the Act and, as such were number liable to pay the sales tax.
The High Court by its order dated 17 4 1979 dismissed the revision petition.
Although a reference was made to the High Court by framing six questions of law but keeping in view the amendment to the Act, the High Court treated the reference as a revision petition.
The application was allowed by the Sales Tax Officer.
a The Sales Tax Officer shall be the assessing authority in respect of the dealers carrying on business within the limits of his jurisdiction.
1 An application by a dealer for registration under sub section 1 of Section 8 A shall be made to the Sales Tax Officer in Form XIV.
The application shall be accompanied by companyies of passport size photographs of the proprietor, or of each adult male partner of the firm, or of each adult male companypartner of the Hindu Undivided Family, as the case may be, duly attested by a lawyer or a gazetted officer, and shall be under the signature of a b c d e the Head of the Office or any other officer duly authorised by him, in the case of a department of a State Government or the Central Government or The Allahabad High Court dismissed the revision petition on the following reasoning In the present case, therefore, although the headquarters of the North Eastern Railway were situated at Gorakhpur, and the General Manager, North Eastern Railway had his office there, the Sales Tax Officer, Gorakhpur companyld make the assessment only in case the General Manager had declared Gorakhpur to be the principal place of business.
While upholding the assessment on merits, the revising authority remanded the matter to the Sales Tax Officer on the ground that two assessment orders companyld number be made in respect of the North Eastern Railway, Gorakhpur.
The final revising authority under the Act came to the companyclusion that the transactions in question had taken place outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Sales Tax Officer and, as such, the assessment orders were without jurisdiction.
A separate assessment was also made by the Sales Tax Officer against the Controller of Stores.
Application for registration.
The Sales Tax Officer within whose jurisdiction the principal place of business so declared by the dealer is situated shall be the assessing authority in respect of such dealer.
If a dealer carries on business within the limits of jurisdiction of more than one Sales Tax Officer, he shall declare one of the places of his business as the principal place of business in Uttar Pradesh.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by KULDIP SINGH, J. The North Eastern Railway sells companyl, firewood, cigarettes, meals, vegetables and certain other articles at various railway stations.
An assessment order made against the North Eastern Railway through any of its officers whether General Manager or Chief Commercial Superintendent or Controller of Stores has to be ordinarily treated as an assessment order against the North Eastern Railway.
