Joint and several partner liability allows recovery of a firm's sales tax arrears through statutory recovery machinery.

Where a taxing statute expressly makes a firm and its partners jointly and severally liable, the State may recover the firm's sales tax arrears from the partners through the statutory recovery machinery. The Central Sales Tax Act's enforcement provisions were read with the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, which authorises recovery of arrears as if they had accrued under that Act and specifically imposes partner liability when the firm is liable to pay tax. Earlier authorities were distinguished because they lacked an express provision creating such partner liability, and the construction preserving the efficacy of the fiscal scheme was preferred.

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Issues: Whether the partners of a firm were liable for recovery of sales tax arrears due from the firm under the statutory scheme of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963.

Analysis: Section 9(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 authorises assessment, collection and enforcement of Central sales tax as if it were tax payable under the State sales tax law, and section 9(2A) extends the State recovery machinery to Central sales tax liabilities. Under section 61 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, arrears existing at the commencement of the Act could be recovered as if they had accrued under that Act, and section 21 expressly makes every partner jointly and severally liable where the firm is liable to pay tax. The earlier authorities relied on by the appellants were distinguished because they did not involve such an express statutory provision creating partner liability. The recovery provisions were treated as part of the enforcement machinery, and the construction preserving the efficacy of the fiscal legislation was preferred.

Conclusion: The partners were liable for recovery of the firm's tax arrears, and the authorities were competent to proceed against them.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the taxing statute expressly provides that a firm and each partner are jointly and severally liable, the State may recover the firm's tax arrears from the partners through the statutory recovery machinery, including provisions incorporated from the general sales tax law.

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