Corporate tax dues cannot be recovered from a director's personal assets without express statutory liability or veil piercing grounds.

Outstanding VAT dues of a company could not be recovered from a person's personal property where the governing VAT scheme did not expressly fasten the company's tax liability on directors. The Court held that a provision dealing with criminal liability for company offences did not authorise recovery from personal assets, and no factual basis was shown to justify piercing the corporate veil. The recovery notice against the petitioner's personal property was therefore without authority and was quashed. The decision confirms that recovery for company dues cannot extend to a director's personal assets absent clear statutory liability or a legally sustainable basis to disregard corporate personality.

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Issues: Whether outstanding VAT dues of a company could be recovered from the personal property of a person who was not the director during the period when the dues arose.

Analysis: The legal position applied was that, in the absence of a statutory provision fastening the company's tax liability on its directors, the authorities cannot proceed against a director's personal assets for recovery of the company's dues. The cited statutory scheme under the VAT Act did not create personal liability of directors for the company's tax dues, and the criminal-liability provision for offences by companies did not authorise recovery from personal property. No factual foundation was shown to justify lifting the corporate veil.

Conclusion: The impugned notice for recovery from the petitioner's personal property was without authority and was quashed. The answer is in favour of the petitioner.

Final Conclusion: Recovery proceedings for company dues cannot be extended to the personal assets of a director absent a clear statutory basis or a legally sustainable basis to disregard the corporate personality.

Ratio Decidendi: A company's tax dues cannot be recovered from a director's personal property unless the governing statute expressly imposes such liability or exceptional facts justify piercing the corporate veil.

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