2017 (5) TMI 1798
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....hhattisgarh Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (for short, 'the Act, 2005'), a notice / order has been issued to the petitioner for appearing before the Commissioner, Commercial Tax on 22-2-2017. The order of assessment was passed against the petitioner by the Deputy Commissioner on 23-1-2013 raising a demand of Rs. 1,04,28,346/-. Thereafter, order dated 29-7-2013 was passed declining to impose penalty under Section 54 of the Act, 2005. Thereafter, on 26-12-2016, the Commissioner, Commercial Tax issued notice to the petitioner under Section 49 (3) of the Act, 2005 exercising suo motu revisional jurisdiction to impose penalty against the petitioner under Section 49 (3) of the Act, 2005. The petitioner herein claiming that the notice dated 26-....
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....005. which reads as under: - "Section 49 : Power of revision by Commissioner (3) The commissioner may on his own motion or on information received call for and examine the record of any proceeding under this Act if he considers that any order passed therein by any person appointed under section 3 to assist him including any officer to whom he has delegated his powers under subsection (1) is erroneous in so far as it is prejudicial to the interest of the revenue, and he may, after giving the dealer or person a reasonable opportunity of being heard, and after making or causing to be made such enquiry as he deems necessary, pass within one calendar year from the date of initiation of proceeding such order thereon as the circumstances of t....
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...., commence, enter upon; to introduce, set going, originate. 8. Black's Law Dictionary, 6th Edition, defines the words "initiate" and "initiative" as under: - "Initiate: Commence; start; originate; introduce; inchoate. Curtesy initiate is the interest which a husband has in the wife's lands after a child is born who may inherit, but before the wife dies. To propose for approval - as schedule of rates. Idaho Power Co. v. Thompson, D.C. Idaho, 19 F. 2d 547, 579. Initiative: An electoral process whereby designated percentages of the electorate may initiate legislative or constitutional changes through the filing of formal petitions to be acted on by the legislature or the total electorate. The power of the people to propose bills a....
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.... came up for consideration before the Supreme Court in the matter of Pallav Sheth v. Custodian and Others (2001) 7 SCC 549 and Their Lordships while considering the scope and meaning of the word "initiate" under Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 have held that in the case of suo motu proceedings, contempt proceeding must be initiated by the court by issuing a notice and in other cases initiation can only be by a party filing an application. Further, the Supreme Court clearly held that under Section 20 of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, action can be initiated, either by filing an application or by the court issuing notice suo motu, within a period of one year from the date on which the contempt is alleged to have ....
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....es to direct, under Section 17 the alleged contemner to show cause why he should not be punished". 13. Therefore, in the considered opinion of the Court what is required and condition precedent for initiation of proceeding by invoking Section 49 (3) of the Chhattisgarh Value Added Tax, 2005, would be initiation of proceeding under Section 49 (3) of the Act, 2005 and initiation can be done only when the revisional authority applies its mind to the facts of the case of his own motion or on the information received. Once there is application of mind by the revisional authority for exercise of suo motu proceeding on the basis of the information received and he decides to issue notice as contemplated in Rule 61 of the Chhattisgarh Valued Added ....