Tax recovery suits require an assessment against the person made liable; a third-party assessment cannot found civil recovery.

A tax recovery suit cannot be maintained unless the assessment order is made against the very person or entity sought to be made liable. Here, the assessment notice and order were treated as having proceeded against a third party rather than the defendants or the firm said to owe the tax, so the foundational precondition for civil liability was absent. Subsequent conduct relied on by the claimant did not amount to waiver of that defect. The result was that the assessment could not sustain the recovery suit against the defendants, and their objection succeeded.

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Issues: Whether a suit for recovery of sales tax could be maintained when the assessment order was not passed against the persons sought to be made liable.

Analysis: The assessment order and the notice were construed as having been issued to and proceeding against a third party, not against the defendants or the firm said to be liable. Since the recovery suit was founded entirely on that assessment, the absence of an assessment order against the defendants meant that the basic precondition for fastening civil liability was not satisfied. The subsequent conduct relied on by the appellant did not amount to waiver of this fundamental defect.

Conclusion: The assessment could not sustain the suit against the defendants, and the objection succeeded in their favour.

Ratio Decidendi: A tax recovery suit cannot be maintained unless the assessment order is made against the very person or entity sought to be made liable.

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