TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
1997 (9) TMI 516
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....gistered dealer under the Act and running a wholesale business in purchase and sale of betel-nuts at Malgodon, Cuttack. In pursuance to the notices issued under section 12(4) of the Act, the respondent appeared before the concerned Sales Tax Officer and produced the books of accounts for the relevant assessment years for verification. The Sales Tax Officer rejected the books of accounts produced by the respondent-dealer and completed the assessments to the best of his judgment. Feeling aggrieved by the same, the respondent-dealer preferred appeals before the first appellate authority, namely, the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Cuttack, under section 23(1) of the Act. The appellate authority by its orders allowed the appeals in part for the assessment year 1992-93 and in full for the assessment year 1993-94. Thereafter, the Additional Commissioner of Sales Tax, exercising his suo motu revisional power conferred under section 23(4)(a) of the Act read with rule 80 of the Rules, issued notices dated June 9, 1995 to the respondent-dealer to show cause as to why should the appellate orders passed by the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax be not revised, the same being erroneous an....
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....oner is not expressly prevented from revising an appellate order if made by any person other than the Tribunal or an Additional Tribunal." 4.. In that case, the unamended rule 80 also fell for consideration. The unamended rule 80, as it stood then, is extracted below: "80. The Commissioner may on his own motion, at any time within three years from the date of passing of any order by the Assistant Sales Tax Officer or by the Sales Tax Officer and within two years from the date of passing of any order other than an appellate order by the Additional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner, as the case may be, call for the record of the proceedings in which such order was passed and revise any such order." (Emphasis supplied) 5.. Interpreting the unamended rule 80, this Court observed that the Commissioner is empowered to revise any order other than an appellate order passed by the Additional Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner. The said view of this Court was on account of the language used in the unamended rule 80 which expressly prohibited the revision of an appellate order. However, this Court upheld the exercise of suo motu po....
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....an order directing payment of interest under sub-section (4-a) of section 12; or (c) an order imposing penalty under sub-section (3) of section 9-B or under sub-section (3) of section 11, any dealer or person, as the case may be, may, in the prescribed manner appeal to the prescribed authority against such order: Provided that no appeal shall be entertained by the said authority unless he is satisfied that such amount of tax as the appellant may admit to be due from him has been paid: Provided further that the prescribed authority may admit the appeal after the period hereinbefore specified if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within the said period. (2) Subject to such rules as may be made or procedure as may be prescribed, the appellate authority, in disposing of any appeal under sub-section (1), may- (a) confirm, reduce, enhance or annul the assessment or the penalty or interest, if any; or (b) set aside the assessment or the penalty or interest, if any, and direct the assessing authority to pass a fresh order after such further enquiry as may be directed. (3)(a) Any dealer or as the case may be, the State Government, di....
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....of appeals preferred under sub-section (1). Sub-section (3)(a) deals with second appeal which enables any dealer or State Government, as the case may be, to prefer appeal to the State Sales Tax Tribunal against the appellate order. Section 23(4)(a) deals with the revisional power of the Commissioner of Sales Tax, which may be either suo motu or at the instance of a dealer or person against any order passed under the Act. The question, therefore, which requires consideration is whether an appellate order passed under sub-section (2) of section 23 of the Act comes within the ambit of the expression "any order made under the Act" occurring in section 23(4)(a) of the Act. The language used in section 23(4)(a) is plain, simple and there is no ambiguity in it. A plain reading of section 23(4)(a) shows that the expression "any order made under the Act" is of a wide connotation and it includes an assessment order as well as an appellate order passed under the Act. This construction placed on the said expression neither runs contrary to the scheme envisaged in section 23 of the Act nor it leads to any undesirable consequences, as observed by the High Court. We are, therefore, of the opinio....