Procedural requirements cannot be imported to defeat a statutory reference remedy where the Act and rules impose no such condition.

A statutory reference application under section 44(1) of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, could not be rejected for absence of a certified or authenticated copy of the second appellate order because neither the Act nor the applicable rules imposed that requirement. Procedural conditions from the High Court Rules governing section 44(2) applications could not be imported into a Tribunal reference under section 44(1), especially when the Tribunal already had the record. Additional procedural burdens not expressly authorised by the statute could not defeat the substantive remedy, and the applications had to be entertained and decided on merits.

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Issues: Whether an application under section 44(1) of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958, filed before the Tribunal itself, could be rejected for want of a certified copy or authenticated copy of the order passed in second appeal, when neither the Act nor the Rules expressly prescribed such a requirement.

Analysis: Sub-sections (1) and (2) of section 38 of the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958, required appeals to be filed in the prescribed manner, and rule 57 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Rules, 1959 specifically required an authenticated copy of the impugned order to accompany such appeals. Section 44(1), however, contained no requirement and did not require the application to be filed in the prescribed manner. The High Court Rules governing applications under section 44(2) in the High Court could not be transplanted to an application under section 44(1) before the Tribunal, especially because the Tribunal already had the record before it. Procedural requirements not expressed in the Act or the Rules could not be added to defeat a substantive statutory remedy.

Conclusion: The rejection of the reference applications for non-filing of certified copies was illegal. The Tribunal was bound to entertain and decide the applications under section 44(1) on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute prescribes a procedural requirement for a remedy, no additional condition can be imported from another procedural code or set of rules unless the statute or the applicable rules expressly impose it.

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