1962 (8) TMI 63

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....rnment orders which we will refer to later. They claimed immunity from levy of additional tax under section 3(2) in respect of certain sales proved to have been effected by them as first dealers. According to them they have not collected tax as the additional rate on such sules from their purchasers. But the finding of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner was that they had collected the tax on the sales of fine and superfine cloth either as a separate charge of "contingent liability" or by inclusion in the sale price. The G.O. relied upon by the assessees for exemption from additional levy is G.O. No. 275 dated 19th January, 1957. The material part of the G.O. relevant to the present case is as follows: "The Government have decided that ....

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....these words: "What appears to have happened is that the order of the Government left the liability to pay tax unaffected, for the Government only stated that in respect of transactions during a certain period, they would not enforce the collection against a dealer if the dealer had not in fact collected the tax from his customers. That being the narrow extent of the scope of the waiver of the collections by the Government, the liability to tax of the dealer was left unaffected. The Tribunal had jurisdiction only to examine any exemption from liability to tax of a dealer under the provisions of the Act and if it declined to consider and apply Since reported as A.S. Kassam & Co., Madurai v. The State of Madras [1962] 13 S.T.C. 907. the Gov....

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.... Appellate Tribunal to hear and determine appeals. The Tribunal's power is provided for under section 36 of the Act. It reads: "(1) Any person objecting to an order passed by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner under sub-section (3) of section 31, or an order passed by the Deputy Commissioner under sub-section (1) of section 32 may.....appeal against such order to the Appellate Tribunal." Section 36(3): "In disposing of an appeal, the Appellate Tribunal may, after giving the appellant a reasonable opportunity of being heard, (a) in the case of an order of assessment-(i) confirm, reduce, enhance or annul the assessment or penalty or both; (ii) set aside the assessment and direct the assessing authority to make a fresh assessment after....

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....ant the view that the Appellate Tribunal had powers to issue directions to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner or to the Deputy Commissioner with regard to matters which are purely administrative in character. Having regard to the scheme of the Act, the proper interpretation of the scope of the appellate powers of the Tribunal would be to hold that it had jurisdiction to deal with the orders of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner under the Act. In regard to matters which the departmental officers may have to carry out in their administrative spheres and which are extra-statutory, the jurisdiction of the Tribunal cannot be stretched and extended. We see no difference in the language of the provisions of the appellat....