Personal recovery of sales tax arrears barred where assessment was against the canteen, not the honorary secretary individually.

Tax arrears assessed against a canteen could not be recovered personally from an honorary secretary where the assessment was made against the canteen as an entity and not against him individually. The court noted that the canteen was not shown to be a partnership or registered body, and the liability attached only in the representative capacity of its secretaries. Because no personal liability was fastened on the petitioner, recovery proceedings against him in his individual capacity were unsupported by the recovery provision. Personal recovery of the sales tax arrears was therefore impermissible.

---

---

Issues: Whether tax arrears assessed against a canteen could be recovered personally from one of the honorary secretaries under section 24(2)(b) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis: The assessment was made against the canteen as such and not against the petitioner personally. The canteen was not shown to be a partnership or registered body, and the liability arising from the assessment was attributable to the canteen and its secretaries in their representative capacity. Since the tax demand was not a personal liability of the petitioner, recovery proceedings against him individually could not be supported under the statutory recovery provision.

Conclusion: Recovery of the sales tax arrears personally from the petitioner was impermissible and the challenge succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The proceeding to recover the assessed tax from the petitioner in his individual capacity could not be sustained, and the writ petition was allowed in substance as one for prohibition.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an assessment is made against an entity in a representative capacity and no personal liability is fastened on an individual, tax arrears cannot be recovered from that individual personally under a recovery provision.

---