1961 (11) TMI 51

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....cond Amendment) Act, 1957. It is further contended that the U.P. Sales Tax (Amendment) Act, XV of 1961, is ultra vires to the extent that it makes it possible to assess a firm dissolved prior to the 30th November, 1957. The argument is that prior to 1957 a Division Bench of this Court in Jagat Behari Tandon v. State[1957] 8 S.T.C. 459; 1957 A.L.J. 77. had held that there was no provision in the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948, for any assessment to be made on a dissolved firm. To plug this hole the Legislature introduced the (Second Amendment) Act, XXXII of 1957. By virtue of section 3 of the said Act a new section 3-C was inserted in the principal Act (Act XV of 1948). The relevant portion of section 3-C is as follows: "3-C. Liability to tax o....

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....ble to Act XV of 1961 runs: "Whereas doubts have arisen as to the extent and purpose of certain provisions of the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948. It is hereby enacted as follows: 1.. Short title and commencement. (2) This section and sections 3 and 4 shall come into force at once and the provisions of section 2 shall be deemed to have come into force with effect from the 30th day of November, 1957: Provided that the amendments to the U.P. Sales Tax Act, 1948 (hereinafter called the "Principal Act") made by section 2 of this Act shall also apply in relation to an assessment for any period before the commencement of the U.P. Sales Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 1957, whether or not such assessment has or had at any stage been completed." 2.. ....

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....med to have come into force with effect from the thirtieth day of November, 1957". Now the mention of the 30th November, 1957, is the date on which Act XXXII of 1957 was promulgated and therefore it is submitted that section 2 of Act XV of 1961 by deleting the words "during the course of an assessment year" specifically restricted the right of the Sales Tax Officer to assess a dissolved firm only from that date and not if the firm had dissolved on any date prior thereto. The interpretation sought to be placed on section 2 by the learned counsel for the petitioner would require much to be written into that section and for which there can be no warrant. The words used in sub-section (2) of section 1 may not be very happily worded but they are....