1970 (11) TMI 83

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....ial facts and relevant provisions of law may first be stated. The petitioner is a partnership firm and has registered itself as a dealer under the Madhya Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1958. The power to assess the tax liability created by the Act is conferred on the Commissioner under sections 18 and 19. The Commissioner is authorised by section 30 to delegate any of his powers to officers appointed under section 3 to assist him. One of the categories of officers that can be appointed under that section to assist the Commissioner comprises of "Sales Tax Officer or Additional Sales Tax Officer". "Sales Tax Officer" is defined in section 2(p) to mean a Sales Tax Officer appointed under section 3 and to include an Additional Sales Tax Officer....

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....nsferred Shri R.N. Mishra, who was then the officiating Sales Tax Officer, flying squad, Raipur, to the post of officiating Additional Sales Tax Officer, Raipur Circle 2. There is also a Sales Tax Officer, namely, Shri Gautam, appointed by the Government for Raipur Circle 2. The delegation of the Commissioner's powers was made by the Commissioner, Shri K.C. Tiwari, by Notification No. 267, dated 1st April, 1959, under which powers under sections 18 and 19 in relation to assessment of dealers were conferred on Sales Tax Officers. Shri K.C. Tiwari ceased to hold the office of the Commissioner some time in 1964 and some other officer was appointed in his place. There has been, however, no fresh order of delegation by the new Commissioner an....

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.... The second contention of the learned counsel is that the notification delegating the powers of Commissioner issued by the Commissioner, Shri K.C. Tiwari, exhausted itself after Shri Tiwari ceased to be the Commissioner, and therefore, no Sales Tax Officer can exercise the powers under the Act until a new notification is issued by the new Commissioner. According to the learned counsel, every time a new officer is appointed as Commissioner, there should be a fresh notification issued by him under section 30, delegating his powers to the other officers appointed under the Act to assist him. There is no merit in this contention. The scheme of the Act is to create an office of the Commissioner of Sales Tax and to assign to it various powers ....