Alternative statutory appeal bars writ review of sales tax assessment merits absent exceptional circumstances.

Where an effective statutory appeal is available against a sales tax assessment, writ jurisdiction will ordinarily not be used to examine the assessment on merits. The court held that the assessee's challenge to the correctness and legality of the assessment should be pursued before the appellate authority under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, and that the requirement to deposit part of the disputed tax for filing an appeal did not by itself make the remedy inefficacious. The writ appeal was therefore not entertained on merits, and the order relegating the party to the statutory appeal was upheld.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition ought to have been entertained on merits despite the availability of an alternative statutory appeal against the assessment order, and whether the High Court should interfere with the single judge's refusal to examine the assessment on merits.

Analysis: The assessment was made under the sales tax framework, while the Commissioner's clarification under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act was relied upon by the assessee to challenge the assessment. The Court noted that the relevant statutory scheme provided an appellate remedy against the assessment order under section 31A of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. It further held that the existence of a requirement to deposit part of the disputed tax for filing an appeal did not by itself make the remedy inefficacious. Since the grievance was essentially against the correctness and legality of the assessment, the proper forum for examining that issue was the appellate authority and not writ jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The writ appeal was not entertained on merits, and the single judge's order relegating the appellant to the statutory appeal was upheld.

Final Conclusion: The assessment dispute was left to be pursued in the statutory appellate forum, and no interference was warranted with the order under challenge.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an effective statutory appeal is available, writ jurisdiction will ordinarily not be invoked to examine the merits of an assessment order unless the alternative remedy is shown to be inefficacious or exceptional circumstances exist.

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