1965 (8) TMI 71

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....rs of land revenue. The Tahsildar concerned took steps under section 279 of the U.P. Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act (hereinafter referred to as the U.P.Z.A. Act) to make the recoveries. By means of the writ petitions giving rise to these special appeals, the proceedings taken by the Tahsildar were challenged on the following two grounds: 1.. That the recovery of arrears of sales tax could not be made under the provisions of the U.P.Z.A. Act. 2.. That the Collector alone could take steps for the recovery of the arrears as land revenue and inasmuch as the Tahsildar and not the Collector had started proceedings, the same were void. Neither of the two grounds appealed to the learned single judge, who dismissed the writ petiti....

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....s'. That was a case where a certificate had been issued under section 46 of the Income-tax Act for recovery of income-tax dues. It was observed in that case as follows "In view of what I have said above and specially because of the language of section 279 of the Act it is clear that the provisions of that section do not apply in terms to the cases of recovery of miscellaneous dues as arrears of land revenue. The liability for the recovery of these dues as arrears of land revenue is created by the special Acts under which those amounts are assessed or become due. Thus in the case of income-tax by virtue of the provisions of section 46 of the Income-tax Act, the Income-tax Officer can have the arrears of income-tax recovered as arrears of lan....

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....ent the plain meanings of the words used therein would indicate that that section was enacted to make recoveries of arrears of land revenue which had already become due before the commencement of the Act and the liability for the payment of which had not arisen under the Act, to be recovered by the machinery provided by the Act. Normally an Act is prospective in its application. The Legislature can make it retrospective also and that is precisely what it has done by enacting section 288 of the Act in respect of the matters mentioned therein." Mr. Chatterji concluded his submission on the first question by submitting that the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act, 1890, would exclude the operation of the U.P.Z.A. Act and consequently the re....