Delegated legislation cannot impose a Form C filing deadline where the parent statute only permits compliance in the prescribed manner.

The phrase "in the prescribed manner" in section 8(4) of the Central Sales Tax Act was held to authorise only the form, particulars and mode of furnishing Form C declarations, not the imposition of a filing deadline. Because Parliament used express words such as "the time within which" in section 13(4)(g) where a temporal limit was intended, the third proviso to rule 6(1) of the Kerala Rules was outside the rule-making power and therefore ultra vires. In the absence of a valid statutory deadline, compliance was satisfied if the declarations were furnished within a reasonable time; declarations filed before assessment met that standard and entitled the assessee to the concessional rate.

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Issues: Whether the third proviso to rule 6(1) of the Central Sales Tax (Kerala) Rules, 1957, prescribing a time-limit for furnishing Form C declarations, was within the rule-making power conferred by section 8(4) read with section 13(3) and 13(4) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and whether declarations furnished before assessment but after the prescribed date satisfied the statutory requirement.

Analysis: The phrase "in the prescribed manner" in section 8(4) was construed as authorising only the prescription of the form, particulars, and authority for furnishing the declaration, and not the fixing of a time-limit for filing it. The presence of specific words in section 13(4)(g), namely "the time within which", showed that where Parliament intended a temporal limit it used express language. On that construction, the State rule-making power did not extend to imposing a deadline through the third proviso to rule 6(1). In the absence of a valid statutory time-limit, the assessee was required only to furnish the declarations within a reasonable time, and the declarations filed before the assessment order met that requirement.

Conclusion: The third proviso to rule 6(1) was ultra vires, and the assessee was entitled to the concessional rate on the basis of the Form C declarations filed before assessment. The appeal failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the parent statute authorises compliance "in the prescribed manner" without expressly empowering the fixing of time, delegated legislation cannot impose a filing deadline; in such a case, compliance is satisfied if the required declaration is furnished within a reasonable time.

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