Tax recovery cannot proceed on an inaccurate demand notice where the payable amount remains disputed and must be redetermined.

Refund claims and tax recovery are distinct proceedings, and Section 29 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act does not by itself require recovery to be stayed until a refund application is decided. However, where the demand notice is shown on the record to be inaccurate and departmental correspondence indicates that the liability for some assessment years differs from the stated amount, recovery on that basis cannot continue. The demand must be re-examined and the amount payable redetermined before further recovery action is taken.

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Issues: Whether recovery proceedings initiated on the basis of an impugned sales tax demand notice could be sustained when the amounts shown as payable were disputed and refund applications were pending.

Analysis: Payment of tax due and refund of excess tax are distinct proceedings, and one does not automatically depend on the other. Section 29 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act permits refund and adjustment only to the extent contemplated by that provision, and it does not provide that recovery proceedings must remain stayed until refund claims are decided. On the facts, however, the amounts demanded in the notice were shown to be inaccurate in light of material on record, including departmental correspondence indicating that the liability for some assessment years was different from that stated in the notice. Once the demand itself was found to be and not reliable, continuation of recovery proceedings on that basis was not justified.

Conclusion: The impugned recovery notice could not be sustained, and the amount payable had to be redetermined before any further recovery.

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