Surcharge remains payable on compounded sales tax where the statute expressly adds it to tax liability.

Surcharge is payable under section 5A of the Orissa Sales Tax Act in addition to tax compounded under rule 90AA, because the compounding rule only provides a mode of paying tax in lieu of assessment on taxable turnover and does not displace the separate surcharge charge. The court applied the settled rule of construction that clear statutory words must be given effect and none can be added to or omitted from the text; reading rule 90AA as excluding surcharge would make the words "in addition" redundant. The issue was therefore decided against the assessee.

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Issues: Whether surcharge is leviable under section 5A of the Orissa Sales Tax Act, 1947 on tax compounded under rule 90AA of the Orissa Sales Tax Rules, 1947.

Analysis: Rule 90AA provides only a mode of compounding of the tax payable in lieu of tax assessable on taxable turnover under section 5. Section 5A, by contrast, expressly requires every dealer to pay surcharge in addition to the tax payable under the Act. Reading the compounding provision as including surcharge would render the words "in addition" otiose. The statutory language was held to be clear, and the Court applied the settled principle that no word can be added to or subtracted from a statute while construing it.

Conclusion: Surcharge is leviable under section 5A in addition to the tax compounded under rule 90AA, and the issue is decided against the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the charging provision expressly imposes surcharge in addition to tax payable under the Act, a compounding or lump-sum payment provision confined to tax cannot be read to exclude surcharge unless the statute clearly says so.

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