Indo National Ltd. vs Commissioner of Commercial Taxes

M.N. Rao, J.—Certain show-cause notices, by which the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes sought to revise certain turnovers on the assumption that a tax revision case against the common order passed by the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal in T.A. Nos. 183, 184 and 185 of 1992 was pending in this Court are challenged in these three writ petitions. The assessment years in question are 1978-79, 1979-80 and 1980-81. In respect of all these assessment years in T.A. Nos. 183, 184 and 185 of 1992, the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal held that the disputed turnovers were branch transfers and therefore, not liable to tax under the Central Sales Tax Act. The department filed tax revision case but as the limitation had expired long ago, an application was filed seeking condonation of delay in each of the three tax revision case. One such application was dismissed by a Division Bench of this Court with the consequence that the judgment of the Tribunal became final. It therefore follows that the authorities cannot take any action on the supposition that the judgment of the Tribunal is under consideration by this Court in any tax revision case.

The impugned notices are also liable to be set aside on another ground. u/s 20(2-A) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, revisional power cannot be exercised "in respect of any issue or question which is the subject-matter of an appeal before, or which was decided on appeal by, the Appellate Tribunal u/s 21". It therefore, follows that what has been decided by the Tribunal could not be in subject-matter for exercising revisional jurisdiction.

In the result, the three writ petitions are allowed and the impugned notices are set aside. No costs.