Tax payable for additional levy must be computed after set-off and drawback, not on gross tax before statutory adjustments.

Additional tax under section 15A-I of the Bombay Sales Tax Act had to be computed on the tax legally payable after statutory set-off, drawback and similar adjustments, because the phrase "tax payable" was read in light of the Act and Rules governing assessment. The court rejected reliance on S. Kodar, holding that it concerned the character of additional sales tax, not the computation method, and held that the Statement of Objects and Reasons could not override clear statutory language. The 1984 amendment and trade circular did not justify a different computation, so liability remained confined to the net tax payable.

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Issues: Whether additional tax under section 15A-I of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1959, was to be computed on the net tax payable after adjustment of set-off and drawback, or on the gross tax payable before such adjustment, and whether the 1984 amendment or the trade circular altered that position.

Analysis: The provision was construed in the context of the scheme of the Act and the Rules governing assessment, drawback and set-off. The expression used in section 15A-I was the tax payable by the dealer, and that expression was treated as referring to the amount legally payable after the statutory adjustments permitted under the Act and the Rules. The departmental reliance on the Supreme Court decision in S. Kodar was rejected because that decision dealt with the character of additional sales tax and not with the precise mode of computation. The Statement of Objects and Reasons was held not to control the meaning of clear statutory language. The 1984 amendment was also held not to justify a departure from the existing method of computation.

Conclusion: Additional tax under section 15A-I had to be calculated on the net amount of tax payable after adjustment of set-off, drawback and similar statutory deductions, and not on the gross tax payable before such adjustment.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the statutory language speaks of tax payable, the computation must follow the amount legally payable under the Act and Rules after permitted adjustments, and fiscal liability cannot be enlarged by circulars, objects-and-reasons material or strained construction.

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