Jurisdiction to assess taxable turnover does not allow a civil suit where the statute bars challenges to the assessment.

A civil suit for refund of sales tax on inter-State transactions was held barred where the assessment authority had jurisdiction to determine whether the turnover was taxable under the Act and whether it was protected by Article 286(2). An erroneous conclusion on that jurisdictional question did not render the assessment a nullity, because the remedy lay within the statutory appeal structure and not in a civil court. The Court distinguished cases where the charging provision itself was ultra vires and held that this was not such a case. The refund claim was therefore not maintainable in civil proceedings.

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Issues: Whether a civil suit for refund of sales tax paid on inter-State transactions was barred by section 18-A of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1939, where the assessment authority had jurisdiction to decide whether the turnover was taxable and had erroneously included transactions said to be protected by Article 286(2) of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The statutory bar in section 18-A prohibited suits to set aside or modify assessments made under the Act. The decisive question was whether the assessment complained of was an assessment made under the Act or one made wholly without jurisdiction. The authority was competent to examine the nature of the transactions, determine whether they were intra-State, inter-State, or otherwise protected by Article 286(2), and then assess accordingly. If the authority reached an erroneous conclusion on that jurisdictional issue, the remedy lay within the hierarchy of the Sales Tax Act and not by a civil suit. The Court distinguished cases where the charging provision itself was ultra vires, noting that this was not such a case. The assessment was therefore not outside the Act merely because it was alleged to be illegal on the facts.

Conclusion: The suit was barred by section 18-A, and the refund claim was not maintainable in a civil court.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the taxing authority has jurisdiction to determine whether a transaction is taxable, an erroneous determination of that issue does not make the assessment a nullity or permit a civil suit if the statute expressly bars such proceedings.

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