Registration under the Central Sales Tax Act takes effect from the application date when the dealer has complied with all requirements.

A complete application for registration under the Central Sales Tax Act should take effect from the date it is filed when the dealer is otherwise entitled to registration and has complied with all legal requirements. Administrative delay or reliance on an irrelevant date connected with provisional registration under the State Act cannot postpone the statutory benefit. The court therefore corrected the effective date of registration to the application date and set aside the contrary order to that extent.

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Issues: Whether registration under the Central Sales Tax Act was to take effect from the date of the complete application or from a later date fixed by the Sales Tax Officer.

Analysis: Registration under section 7(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 is available to a dealer liable to tax under the appropriate State law. The application in form A was complete and the petitioner was already carrying on business and was registered under the U.P. Sales Tax Act. The Sales Tax Officer's refusal to give effect from the date of application rested on an irrelevant date connected with provisional registration under the State Act and on a misreading of the record. Where the applicant has done all that the law requires, delay on the part of the authority cannot prejudice the applicant or postpone the benefit of registration. The rule against hardship from administrative delay applies to the grant of registration.

Conclusion: The registration certificate was required to take effect from 8 April 1974, the date of the application, and not from 14 May 1974.

Final Conclusion: The petitioner succeeded in obtaining correction of the effective date of registration, and the impugned order was set aside to that extent.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statutory registration application is complete and the applicant is otherwise entitled to registration, the certificate should operate from the date of application and administrative delay cannot be used to defer its effect.

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