Saving of accrued liabilities preserves penalty proceedings after repeal where the new law shows no contrary intention.

On repeal followed by re-enactment, accrued liabilities and pending penalty proceedings under the repealed sales tax statute remained enforceable because the later Act preserved prior operation, liabilities and pending proceedings. The Court applied the saving principle under section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, read with the corresponding state saving provision, and held that repeal does not extinguish pre-existing rights or liabilities unless the new law clearly shows contrary intent. As the penalty liability had arisen under the earlier Act and fell within the saving framework, jurisdiction to continue and conclude the proceedings survived the repeal.

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Issues: Whether penalty proceedings initiated under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1957 could validly be continued and concluded after its repeal by the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005.

Analysis: Section 80 of the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 expressly repealed the earlier sales tax enactment while saving its previous operation, accrued rights and liabilities, and pending proceedings. The Court applied the settled principle under section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, and the corresponding state saving provision, that repeal does not destroy accrued liabilities or pending legal proceedings unless the later enactment evinces a contrary intention. On the facts, the liability and penalty proceedings had arisen under the repealed Act and were within the saving framework preserved by the new statute. The Court also reiterated that in a repeal followed by re-enactment, the later law is ordinarily treated as a continuation of the earlier one unless the legislative intent is to extinguish prior rights and liabilities.

Conclusion: The jurisdiction to initiate and complete the penalty proceedings survived the repeal, and the challenge to the authority of the Assistant Commissioner failed.

Ratio Decidendi: On repeal followed by re-enactment, accrued liabilities and pending proceedings under the repealed statute continue to be enforceable if the new enactment does not manifest a contrary intention.

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