Court fee refund for withdrawn revision petition allowed where the matter was never taken on file or numbered.

A revision petition under the Madras General Sales Tax Act had to be presented in the prescribed form, which included payment of court fee, and the Act contained no express refund provision. The court fee was treated as attaching to a petition meant to be prosecuted before the Court, but where the petition was withdrawn before it was taken on file and numbered, the proceeding had not yet effectively commenced. On that basis, the High Court could exercise inherent powers to direct refund of the fee, and the assessee was held entitled to a refund certificate.

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Issues: Whether the assessee was entitled to a refund certificate for the court fee paid on a revision petition that had been returned for defects and was withdrawn before it was taken on file.

Analysis: Section 12-B of the Madras General Sales Tax Act required a revision petition to be presented in the prescribed form and manner, and the prescribed form contemplated payment of the fee. The Act contained no express provision for refund of such fee, but the obligation to pay the fee was treated as attaching to a petition intended to be prosecuted before the Court. Where the petition was withdrawn before it was taken on file and numbered, the Court could, in exercise of its inherent powers, direct refund of the fee because the petition had not yet taken effect as a revisional proceeding.

Conclusion: The assessee was entitled to the refund certificate.

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