Tax confidentiality privilege survives repeal and bars compulsory production of protected returns and records.

Confidentiality provisions for tax records barred compulsory production of returns, statements, accounts and documents filed before sales tax authorities, so the protected records could not be summoned. Privilege over income-tax documents filed under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 also survived repeal because the confidentiality right had already accrued and section 6(c) of the General Clauses Act preserved it absent a contrary legislative intention. The later income-tax framework did not evince an intention to destroy that protection, so production was properly refused. The documents remained privileged and the challenge failed.

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Issues: (i) Whether documents and returns filed before the sales tax authorities were protected from production in court under the confidentiality provision of the sales tax statute. (ii) Whether documents filed before the income-tax authorities retained their privilege against production after repeal of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 and the subsequent statutory changes.

Issue (i): Whether documents and returns filed before the sales tax authorities were protected from production in court under the confidentiality provision of the sales tax statute.

Analysis: The provision governing sales tax records made all particulars contained in statements, returns, accounts and documents filed under the Act confidential and barred a court from requiring their production, subject only to specified exceptions. The documents summoned from the sales tax office fell within that protected category.

Conclusion: The claim of privilege was upheld and the documents could not be summoned.

Issue (ii): Whether documents filed before the income-tax authorities retained their privilege against production after repeal of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 and the subsequent statutory changes.

Analysis: The privilege attached when the documents were filed under the 1922 Act, whose confidentiality bar was absolute in respect of such records. By virtue of section 6(c) of the General Clauses Act, 1897, repeal does not affect rights or privileges already accrued unless a different intention appears. The later income-tax legislation did not manifest an intention to destroy the existing privilege, since the scheme continued to restrict disclosure and vested control over information in the Commissioner.

Conclusion: The privilege survived repeal and the request for production was rightly refused.

Final Conclusion: The revision was rejected because both sets of documents were protected from compulsory production, and the order allowing privilege was sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A confidentiality privilege attaching to tax documents at the time of filing survives repeal of the earlier enactment unless the later legislation clearly manifests a contrary intention; statutory bars on production of confidential tax records must be given effect according to their terms.

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