Bona fide purchaser protection defeats belated tax recovery where statutory procedure and notice of encumbrance were not followed.

A statutory charge for tax arrears may attach to a defaulter's property, but enforcement against transferred property requires strict compliance with the prescribed recovery procedure and effective notice of the encumbrance. Where a purchaser bought the property for value, without any encumbrance shown in the records and without knowledge of a subsisting charge, the department could not sustain a belated demand and recovery notice against that purchaser. The result is that an innocent purchaser is protected against recovery action when the authority failed to act promptly or follow the statutory mechanism. The impugned notice was quashed.

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Issues: Whether the impugned demand and recovery notice issued against the purchaser of the property could be sustained despite the absence of prior notice or encumbrance and the department's failure to follow the prescribed recovery procedure.

Analysis: The arrears were admittedly due from the defaulting company, not from the petitioner. The property had been purchased without any encumbrance shown in the records, and the department had not promptly taken steps to secure its claim by following the statutory recovery mechanism. The legal framework relied upon in the decision recognizes that tax arrears may create a charge on the defaulter's property, but enforcement against transferred property requires strict adherence to the recovery procedure and cannot prejudice an innocent purchaser who bought without notice. A purchaser in the chain of title, without collusion and without knowledge of any subsisting charge, is protected against belated recovery action where the department remained inactive for years.

Conclusion: The recovery notice could not be sustained against the petitioner, and the challenge succeeded.

Final Conclusion: The impugned notice was quashed, and the writ petition was allowed.

Ratio Decidendi: A statutory charge for tax arrears cannot be enforced against a bona fide purchaser for value without notice unless the authority has strictly complied with the prescribed recovery procedure and given public notice of the encumbrance.

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