1961 (10) TMI 63 - SC - VAT and Sales Tax

Supreme Court emphasizes exhausting remedies before appeal, dismisses direct challenge on central sales tax assessment.

The Supreme Court dismissed the direct appeal by a partnership firm challenging a central sales tax assessment, emphasizing the importance of exhausting ... Whether this Court should entertain the appeal, when even the facts have not been finally determined by the final fact-finding authority under the Act, nor has the jurisdiction of the High Court been invoked to exercise its powers under the Act? Held that:- Appeal dismissed. The present case is a much simpler one, in which there are no special circumstances and in which the facts have not yet been finally determined. It may also be noted that the appellant has not challenged the vires of the Act or of any other law. We, therefore, think that we should dismiss this appeal as 'incompetent', without expressing any opinion on the merits of the controversy. It will be open to the appellant to take such steps as it may be advised in pursuing such remedies as may be available to it under the law. Issues:- Jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to entertain appeal directly without exhausting remedies under the Act.Analysis:The judgment by the Supreme Court involved a direct appeal by special leave against the order of assessment passed by the Commercial Tax Officer assessing the appellant to central sales tax. The appellant, a partnership firm engaged in the business of coal and coke, challenged the assessment under the Central Sales Tax Act. The appellant had not exhausted all remedies under the Act before approaching the Supreme Court directly. The appellant argued that the wide powers of the Supreme Court under Article 136 of the Constitution allowed direct approach in cases of assessment without authority of law. However, the Court noted that while its jurisdiction is broad, it has imposed limitations on entertaining appeals when ordinary remedies have not been utilized. The appellant relied on precedents where the Court interfered with assessment orders directly, but the Court distinguished those cases based on specific circumstances and lack of final determination of facts.The Court discussed the limitations it has imposed on its own powers and cited previous cases where direct appeals were not entertained without exhausting remedies. The Court highlighted the importance of following the proper legal procedure and not bypassing the High Court in such matters. The judgment emphasized the need for litigants to utilize all available remedies before approaching the Supreme Court under Article 136. The Court referred to recent decisions where appeals were dismissed as incompetent for not following the proper legal process. In the present case, the Court found no special circumstances and the facts were not conclusively determined, leading to the dismissal of the appeal as incompetent without expressing any opinion on the merits of the controversy. The appellant was advised to pursue available remedies under the law, and the appeal was dismissed without costs.