Automatic penalty liability under sales tax law meant recovery could proceed without a prior penalty order or hearing.

Liability to pay penalty under section 13(2) of the Mysore Sales Tax Act arose automatically on default in payment within the prescribed time under section 13(1), and the Commercial Tax Officer had no discretion to waive, reduce, or vary that statutory penalty. Because remission was separately placed under section 13(2A) with the State Government, a prior order levying penalty and a prior hearing of the defaulting assessee were not prerequisites to recovery proceedings. The recovery authority could still consider objections that there was no default or that the amount demanded was excessive, but those objections did not require an antecedent penalty order. The petitions therefore failed.

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Issues: Whether, under section 13(2) of the Mysore Sales Tax Act, 1957, the Commercial Tax Officer must first pass an order levying penalty and hear the defaulting assessee before initiating recovery proceedings for the penalty.

Analysis: The liability to pay penalty arises automatically on default in payment within the time prescribed under section 13(1). Section 13(2) does not confer any discretion on the assessing authority to waive, reduce, or vary the penalty, and the statute separately provides in section 13(2A) that any remission is a matter for the State Government. Since the penalty is statutorily computed and not left to administrative discretion, the requirement of a prior hearing before initiating recovery does not arise. The authority recovering the penalty may, however, consider objections that the assessee is not in default or that the amount demanded is excessive.

Conclusion: Prior order of penalty and prior hearing were not prerequisites for recovery proceedings under section 13(2); the petitions failed.

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