Annual unit of assessment and intra-court appealability under Article 226 are clarified under sales tax procedure.

An intra-court appeal from a single Judge's Article 226 order is discussed as maintainable where the High Court's jurisdiction and appellate framework remain preserved. The article also examines the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and Bengal Sales Tax Rules, noting that the charging scheme is annual in character: liability is linked to yearly turnover, while quarterly returns and periodic payment provisions regulate procedure rather than alter the unit of assessment. On that basis, consolidated assessment across quarterly return periods is treated as inconsistent with the statutory scheme unless the enactment expressly authorises it.

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Issues: (i) Whether an intra-court appeal lay from a single Judge's order under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. (ii) Whether, under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, the assessing authority could make a consolidated assessment covering several quarterly return periods, or whether the unit of assessment was annual.

Issue (i): Whether an intra-court appeal lay from a single Judge's order under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

Analysis: The constitutional continuance of the existing jurisdiction of the High Court was preserved by Articles 225 and 372, and Article 395 repealed only the named enactments without abrogating the Letters Patent. The appeal provisions in the High Court rules also recognised appeals from final orders in Article 226 proceedings. The view was supported by prior authorities holding that a single Judge's order under Article 226 is appealable within the High Court.

Conclusion: The appeal was maintainable.

Issue (ii): Whether, under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 and the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, the assessing authority could make a consolidated assessment covering several quarterly return periods, or whether the unit of assessment was annual.

Analysis: The charging and registration scheme of the Act proceeds on a yearly basis: liability is linked to gross turnover during a year, tax is levied on taxable turnover, and voluntary registration also turns on annual turnover. Section 10 and the Rules permit periodic or quarterly returns and fixes of return periods, but those provisions regulate the manner and timing of returns and payment, not the basic unit of charge. The Rules, especially those referring to annual turnover, annual returns, estimation for the whole year, and change of estimate during a year, reinforced that the assessment unit remained the year. The consolidated assessment was therefore beyond jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The earlier view that consolidated quarterly assessment was ultra vires was set aside, and the assessing authority was held competent to proceed on the basis of the statutory scheme permitting such assessment structure.

Final Conclusion: The appeals succeeded, the writ rules were discharged, and the judgment under challenge was reversed on the merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statute makes the year the unit of charge and assessment, periodical returns do not authorise a departure from that statutory unit unless the enactment expressly provides otherwise; and an intra-court appeal from a single Judge's Article 226 order is maintainable where the High Court's jurisdiction and appellate framework are preserved.

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