Tax arrears recoverable as fine may be enforced through criminal fine-recovery procedures, including attachment of movable property.

Arrears under the Mysore Sales Tax Act, when recoverable as if they were a fine, could be enforced through the fine-recovery machinery in section 386(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The legal fiction in section 13(3)(b) placed the assessee in the position of a person against whom a fine had been imposed, so recovery by warrant and attachment of movable property was not invalid merely because the person was a tax defaulter rather than a criminal offender. The distinction between offender and defaulter did not limit the statutory recovery power.

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Issues: Whether dues recoverable under the Mysore Sales Tax Act could be enforced by a warrant issued under section 386(1)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and whether the distinction sought to be drawn between an offender and a defaulter prevented recourse to that provision.

Analysis: The recovery proceedings under the Mysore Sales Tax Act were to be treated, by virtue of section 13(3)(b), as if the amount were a fine imposed by the Magistrate. Section 386(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure permits recovery of a fine by either method specified in clauses (a) and (b), and the wording of the section does not confine clause (a) to a case where the person is literally an offender in the criminal sense. The legal fiction created by the sales tax statute placed the assessee in the position necessary for recovery of the amount as fine, so the warrant for attachment of movables was not invalid merely because it was issued under clause (a).

Conclusion: The warrant issued for recovery by attachment of movable property was valid, and the challenge to its legality failed.

Final Conclusion: The revision petition was dismissed and the revenue recovery action was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing statute authorises recovery of arrears as if they were a fine, the criminal court may employ the statutory mode of recovery available for fines, including attachment of movable property, and the literal distinction between offender and defaulter does not defeat that power.

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