Procedural irregularity in sales tax forms does not void the entire return; only extra-month entries may be ignored.

A Form XXI-A containing entries for more than one month is not wholly invalid under Rule 22-B(5) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Rules, 1959. The rule is procedural and meant to aid assessment and enforcement, so inclusion of transactions from a succeeding month is only an irregularity. The form remains valid for the relevant month, and the extraneous entries may be excluded. Procedural requirements must not be applied so as to defeat substantive rights where no prejudice is caused to the Revenue, and the challenge to complete invalidity fails.

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Issues: Whether a form XXI-A containing entries relating to more than one month is wholly invalid under Rule 22-B(5) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Rules, 1959, or can be treated as valid to the extent it relates to the relevant month.

Analysis: Rule 22-B(5) is intended to facilitate assessment and effective enforcement of the Act. A form containing transactions of more than one month does not, for that reason alone, cease to be valid in its entirety. The defect of including entries for a succeeding month is only a procedural irregularity. Invalidating the whole form would defeat the assessee's substantive entitlement, while causing no loss to the Revenue, and procedural rules must not be construed to defeat substantive rights.

Conclusion: The form is valid insofar as it relates to the relevant month, and the additional entries for the succeeding month may be excluded; the challenge by the State fails.

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