Recovery of deceased dealer's sales tax arrears from estate upheld, and writ relief refused due to an effective statutory civil remedy.

Sales tax arrears of a deceased dealer were treated as a debt recoverable from the estate in the hands of the legal representative, and the court held that valid delegated legislation could authorise recovery against that estate. The repeal of the earlier sales tax law did not extinguish accrued liabilities, and the statutory framework preserved enforcement of arrears through revenue recovery proceedings. The court also held that writ relief was inappropriate where the Revenue Recovery Act provided an efficacious civil remedy by suit, so the petition was not maintainable in view of the alternative statutory remedy.

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Issues: (i) whether sales tax arrears due from a deceased dealer could be recovered from the estate in the hands of his son as legal representative, and whether rule 23 enabling such recovery was valid; (ii) whether the writ petition was barred by the availability of an effective alternative remedy under the Revenue Recovery Act.

Issue (i): whether sales tax arrears due from a deceased dealer could be recovered from the estate in the hands of his son as legal representative, and whether rule 23 enabling such recovery was valid.

Analysis: The arrears of sales tax were treated as a debt recoverable from the estate of the deceased dealer. The Court held that, whether the petitioner took the estate by survivorship or by inheritance, the lawful debts of the deceased could be enforced against the assets in his hands. The repeal of the earlier sales tax enactment did not extinguish accrued liabilities, and the Andhra Pradesh legislation preserved recovery of arrears. Rule 23, made under the rule-making power for dealing with the business of a deceased dealer, was held to be within legislative sanction and not an instance of excessive delegation. The demand therefore could lawfully be enforced through revenue recovery proceedings.

Conclusion: The legal representative was liable to satisfy the deceased dealer's sales tax arrears from the estate, and rule 23 was valid; this contention failed.

Issue (ii): whether the writ petition was barred by the availability of an effective alternative remedy under the Revenue Recovery Act.

Analysis: The Court noted that the Revenue Recovery Act provided a specific remedy by suit for a person aggrieved by proceedings taken under that Act. Since such civil redress was available, the extraordinary writ jurisdiction was not to be invoked for the grievance raised in the petition.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not maintainable in view of the effective alternative remedy; this contention also failed.

Final Conclusion: The challenge to the recovery proceedings was rejected, and the petition could not be sustained either on merits or on the ground of available civil remedy.

Ratio Decidendi: Sales tax arrears due from a deceased dealer remain recoverable from the estate in the hands of the legal representative where the statute, through valid delegated legislation, authorises such recovery, and writ relief may be declined when an efficacious statutory civil remedy exists.

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