Previous publication requirement invalidated later rule amendments, while authorised assessment powers were upheld under the sales tax scheme.

Previous publication was a mandatory condition for amending rule 13 of the Madras General Sales Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules, 1939, so the original 1939 rules remained valid, but the 1947, 1951 and 1953 amendments were invalid because the statutory precondition was not satisfied. Publication in the Gazette could not cure the absence of prior compliance with the rule-making requirement. The assessment itself was upheld because Assistant Commercial Tax Officers were duly authorised under the Act to act as assessing authorities within the prescribed turnover limit, so the objection to their competence failed.

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Issues: (i) Whether the amendments to rule 13 of the Madras General Sales Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules, 1939, were invalid for want of compliance with the requirement of previous publication and related procedural conditions under the Act and the General Clauses Act. (ii) Whether the assessment made by the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer was invalid for want of lawful authority.

Issue (i): Whether the amendments to rule 13 of the Madras General Sales Tax (Turnover and Assessment) Rules, 1939, were invalid for want of compliance with the requirement of previous publication and related procedural conditions under the Act and the General Clauses Act.

Analysis: The statutory scheme required rules framed under the Act to satisfy the condition of previous publication for not less than four weeks, and rules concerning turnover and assessment under section 3(4) were not independent of the rule-making power in section 19. The original 1939 rules had been validly made after pre-publication and the procedural steps leading to their final publication satisfied the statutory requirement. The later amendments of 1947, 1951 and 1953, however, were made without compliance with the condition of previous publication, and a delegated authority cannot act beyond the limits imposed by the statute. The effect of publication in the Gazette under section 7(e) of the Madras General Clauses Act could not cure the absence of the statutory precondition itself.

Conclusion: The original 1939 rules were valid, but the subsequent amendments to rule 13 were invalid; the challenge based on non-compliance with section 19(4) succeeded only to that extent.

Issue (ii): Whether the assessment made by the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer was invalid for want of lawful authority.

Analysis: The Act empowered the State Government to authorise persons to make assessments, and the notification issued under the Act authorised Assistant Commercial Tax Officers to exercise the powers of an assessing authority within the prescribed turnover limit. The objection that the officer lacked authority was therefore without merit.

Conclusion: The assessment was valid and the challenge to the officer's authority failed.

Final Conclusion: The revision failed overall, and the order of assessment was upheld, though the amendments to rule 13 made in 1947, 1951 and 1953 were held invalid for non-compliance with the statutory requirement of previous publication.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute makes previous publication a condition of the power to frame or amend rules, compliance with that condition is essential to the validity of the subordinate legislation, and an assessment made by an officer duly authorised under the Act is not invalid merely because the officer is not the original appointing authority.

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