Separate legal entity principle bars recovery of company tax dues from a director's personal assets absent specific liability.

A company remains a separate legal entity, so its sales tax arrears cannot be recovered from a director's personal assets unless personal liability is created by a specific statutory provision or agreement. In the absence of any such legal basis, proceeding against the director's assets for the company's tax dues is impermissible. The High Court therefore restrained recovery from the petitioner's personal property.

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Issues: Whether arrears of sales tax outstanding against a company can be realised from the personal assets of its director.

Analysis: The company was treated as a separate legal entity. The respondents did not show any specific provision of law or agreement making the director personally liable for the company's tax dues. In the absence of such legal basis, recovery of company dues from the director's personal assets was impermissible.

Conclusion: Recovery of the company's sales tax arrears from the petitioner's personal assets was not justified and was restrained.

Final Conclusion: The petition was allowed and the respondents were prohibited from proceeding against the petitioner's personal assets for the company's tax liability.

Ratio Decidendi: A director's personal assets cannot be proceeded against for recovery of a company's tax dues unless personal liability is created by a specific statutory provision or by agreement.

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