Registration application defects cured later can relate back to the filing date, excluding unregistered-dealer assessment.

A defective application for registration under the Central Sales Tax Act does not lose its legal effect if the defects are later cured and registration is ultimately granted. Under section 7 and the Registration and Turnover Rules, an incomplete application may be rejected only after an opportunity to complete it; once the certificate issues, registration relates back to the date of application. Rule 12(6) of the Orissa Rules, which applies only where a liable dealer has not applied for registration, therefore could not be invoked, and the dealer was not to be treated as unregistered for the relevant period.

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Issues: Whether, when an application for registration under the Central Sales Tax Act was initially defective but was ultimately granted, the dealer had to be treated as registered from the date of application so as to exclude assessment under rule 12(6) of the Orissa Rules.

Analysis: Under section 7 of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and rule 3 of the Registration and Turnover Rules, a dealer applies for registration in the prescribed form. Rule 5(2) requires rejection of an incomplete or incorrect application, but only after giving the applicant an opportunity to correct and complete the particulars. In the present case, the defects were removed and the registration certificate was ultimately granted. Once granted, the registration related back to the date of the application and the application could not thereafter be treated as if it had not been filed. Since rule 12(6) applies only where a liable dealer has not applied for registration, that provision could not be invoked.

Conclusion: The dealer was not to be treated as an unregistered dealer for the relevant period, and the assessments made under rule 12(6) were invalid in law.

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