Statutory composition requirement for quasi-judicial authority prevails over delegated rules, rendering a two-member ruling invalid.

Section 60(1) of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act required the Authority for Clarification and Advance Rulings to comprise at least three Additional Commissioners. A delegated rule could not override that statutory composition requirement, and no material showed any valid contingency for a two-member functioning. The order made by the two-member Authority was therefore not in accordance with the Act and was held invalid, with the resulting ruling liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether the order passed by the Authority for Clarification and Advance Rulings was valid when the Authority consisted of only two members instead of at least three Additional Commissioners as required under the Act.

Analysis: Section 60(1) of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 requires the Authority for Clarification and Advance Rulings to consist of at least three Additional Commissioners. A rule framed under the Act cannot override this statutory mandate. Even assuming the relevant rule permitting a two-member functioning in limited contingencies was applicable, no material was shown to establish the existence of such contingency. The Authority that decided the matter was therefore not properly constituted in accordance with law.

Conclusion: The order passed by the two-member Authority was invalid and liable to be quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: A delegated rule cannot dilute an express statutory requirement as to the minimum composition of a quasi-judicial authority, and an order made by an authority not constituted in accordance with the statute is without legal validity.

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