Tax collection prohibition under a penal provision cannot be enlarged by implication; licensed but unregistered dealers were not liable to forfeiture.

A licensed dealer under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953 who was not registered under section 9 was not barred by section 21(2) from collecting general tax from purchasers. The provision prohibited collection only by a person who was neither a registered dealer nor a licensed dealer and who was not liable to pay the tax; it could not be expanded by construction to create separate prohibitions for general and special tax. As a penal taxing provision, ambiguity had to be resolved in favour of the taxpayer, so the collected amount was not liable to forfeiture and the Sales Tax Officer lacked jurisdiction to forfeit it.

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Issues: Whether a dealer who was licensed under the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953 but not registered under section 9 could collect general tax from purchasers and whether the amount so collected was liable to forfeiture under section 21(4).

Analysis: Section 21(2) prohibited collection of tax only by a person who was neither a registered dealer nor a licensed dealer and who was not liable to pay the tax in respect of the sale. The statutory scheme distinguished between registration for general tax and licence for special tax, but the language of section 21(2) was not to be rewritten so as to split the prohibition into separate rules for general tax and special tax. The provision being penal in a taxing statute, ambiguity had to be resolved in favour of the taxpayer and no words could be added to enlarge the forfeiture.

Conclusion: The licensed but unregistered respondents were not prohibited from collecting general tax under section 21(2), and the Sales Tax Officer had no jurisdiction to forfeit the amount collected.

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