Jurisprudentiol- Recent SC Judgement

By Vijay Kumar

Maharashtra Sales Tax - No provision under the Act for settlement of dues of a partner with the State Government - 30 year litigation ends in cost of 5 lakhs to the appellant:

The litigation started sometime in 1977. The appellant claims that the State Finance Minister accepted his request for settlement of his sales tax dues in relation to the Firm in which he was a partner. The case travelled right up to the Supreme Court. Last week the Supreme Court held that under the Sales Tax Act, there was no provision for settlement at all and certainly no provision for settling the dues of one partner in a partnership firm. The Supreme Court held, "the convoluted mesh of facts and the extremely protracted proceedings which span over three decades, at the instance of appellant, indicate that the basis of case made out by the appellant does not exist in either the statute law or, in fact, any law applicable to the present proceedings. The settlement, if any, reached between the appellant and the State Government for part payment of tax liability by the partner of an assessee-Firm would not fall under the four corners of the Act or the Rules as has been claimed by the appellant since the beginning of the proceedings under the Act."

The Supreme Court reiterated that there is no equity about a tax. There is no presumption as to a tax. Nothing is to be read in, nothing is to be implied.

The appellant was imposed a cost of Rs. 5 lakhs.

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