Tax Recovery Order Partially Overturned: Procedural Fairness Mandated for Appellant's Challenge to Garnishee Proceedings

HC allowed partial appeal challenging tax recovery garnishee order. Court directed revisional authority to review appellant's application, provide speaking order, and grant personal hearing. Bank account attachment temporarily lifted, with over 50% outstanding dues already recovered. Revisional authority instructed to reconsider case merits and provide fair hearing to appellant within prescribed legal framework.

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Issues:
Challenge against garnishee order for tax and penalty recovery, non-communication of revisional application status, recovery of partial outstanding amount, bank account attachment, application for recall of revisional order.

Analysis:
The appellant challenged a garnishee order for tax and penalty recovery following an assessment order. The Single Bench dismissed the writ petition due to the appellant's lack of awareness regarding the revisional application's status. The appellant claimed to have requested changes in business details prior to assessment, which were not processed. Furthermore, the appellant alleged lack of hearing before the appellate authority's order dated February 7, 2014.

The appellant filed a revisional application but remained uninformed about the hearing or subsequent steps. Only during the writ petition proceedings, it was revealed that the revisional application had been disposed of without informing the appellant. Subsequently, a significant amount was recovered from the appellant, leaving a balance outstanding.

The Court acknowledged the peculiar circumstances and partially allowed the appeal. It directed the appellant to file an application before the revisional authority, outlining all facts and requesting a recall of the revisional application's disposal. The revisional authority was instructed to review the application, provide a speaking order, and grant a personal hearing to the appellant's representative.

Considering over 50% of the dues already recovered, the Court decided to keep the garnishee order for the balance amount in abeyance pending the revisional authority's decision. The attachment of the appellant's bank account was ordered to be lifted within three days to enable normal operations. A connected application was disposed of accordingly, with no costs imposed on either party.

The judgment concluded with instructions for expeditious provision of a certified copy to the parties upon completion of legal formalities, signed by the presiding judges T.S. Sivagnanam and Hiranmay Bhattacharyya.

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