Statutory appellate remedy bars writ challenge to assessment order where the tax statute provides a complete appeal mechanism.

Where the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act provides an effective statutory appeal mechanism against an assessment order, writ jurisdiction should ordinarily not be used to bypass that remedy. The Court noted that the assessee could appeal under section 31 and pursue a further appeal under section 36, and that the Act contained a complete machinery with safeguards against arbitrary assessment. On that basis, the writ petition was not entertained on merits, and the assessee was relegated to the statutory appellate remedy within the time granted.

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Issues: Whether the writ petition challenging the assessment order should be entertained when an equally efficacious statutory appellate remedy was available.

Analysis: The assessment order was held to be challengeable under the statutory scheme of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. The Court noted that the assessee had a remedy of appeal under section 31 and a further appeal under section 36, and that the Act provided a complete machinery and adequate safeguards against arbitrary assessment. In these circumstances, the writ jurisdiction was not the proper forum for directly assailing the assessment order.

Conclusion: The writ petition was not entertained on merits and the petitioner was relegated to the statutory appellate remedy.

Final Conclusion: The proceeding ended by preserving the assessee's right to pursue the appeal before the competent appellate authority within the time granted by the Court.

Ratio Decidendi: Where an effective statutory appeal mechanism exists against an assessment order, writ jurisdiction should ordinarily not be invoked to bypass that remedy.

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