C form issuance cannot be refused on apprehended misuse where statutory conditions for issue are satisfied.

C forms cannot be withheld at the issuance stage on a speculative apprehension of misuse when the applicant is a registered dealer, has paid the prescribed charges, and has produced the required challans. The authority's function at that stage is limited to verifying those statutory conditions and it cannot conduct a wider enquiry into the intended use of the forms. Any later misuse must be addressed through the Act's penal machinery, not by refusing issuance at the threshold. The petitioner's request for C forms therefore had to be considered and decided in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the commercial tax authority could refuse to issue C forms on the ground of apprehension of misuse, and whether the petitioner was entitled to have the request for C forms considered and decided in accordance with law.

Analysis: The settled position applied was that issuance of C forms depends on whether the applicant is a registered dealer, has paid the prescribed charges, and has produced the necessary challans. At the stage of issuing C forms, the authority is not entitled to embark upon an enquiry into the proposed use of the forms or to refuse them merely because misuse is apprehended. Any misuse can be dealt with later under the statutory penal provisions, but that does not justify denial at the threshold. The petitioner's request was therefore required to be dealt with in the light of the earlier decisions recognising this limited administrative function.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to consideration of the request for C forms in accordance with law, and refusal based on apprehended misuse was not sustainable.

Ratio Decidendi: C forms cannot be withheld at the issuance stage on speculative apprehension of misuse when the statutory conditions for issue are satisfied; any misuse is to be addressed under the penal machinery of the Act.

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