Company tax liability cannot be recovered from a former director's personal assets without express statutory authority.

Trade tax arrears of a company could not be recovered from an erstwhile director's personal assets in the absence of express statutory authority. The director had resigned years earlier, and there was no finding that he had received any company property; the liability remained that of the company. The Court stated that, unless the Trade Tax Act specifically permits recovery from a director, a circular or notice directing such personal recovery is contrary to law and ineffective to that extent.

---

---

Issues: Whether trade tax dues of a company could be recovered from the personal assets of its erstwhile director, and whether the circular and notice issued for such recovery were valid.

Analysis: The director had resigned from the board in 1975 and there was no finding that he had received any movable or immovable property of the company. The liability related to arrears due from the company, and the Court reiterated that, in the absence of a specific statutory provision, the dues of a company cannot be recovered from the personal assets of its director. The impugned circular and notice, insofar as they sought recovery from the petitioner, were contrary to the Trade Tax Act.

Conclusion: The recovery could not be enforced against the petitioner personally, and the circular and notice, to that extent, were invalid.

Ratio Decidendi: A company's tax liability cannot be recovered from a director's personal assets unless the statute expressly authorises such recovery.

---