October 2016
Appellate Tribunal – Registrar cannot refuse to accept the appeal though not maintainable – Order of Non-Maintainability to be passed by the Tribunal itself and not the registrar even if the petition was prima facie not maintainable. [Tripura Value Added Tax Act 2004, S.71]
By Dr. K. Shivaram
Senior Advocate
Rahul K. Hakani
Advocate
Sashank Dundu
Advocate
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New Medical (Agartala) Pvt. Ltd. vs. Superintendent of Taxes, Charge-VI, Agartala & Ors. (2015) 82 VST 238 (Tripura) (HC).
The petitioner had filed 2 separate appeals before the Tripura Value Added Tax Tribunal, Agartala, Tripura, but these appeals were returned to the petitioner without passing an order by the Registrar of the Tripura Value Added Tax Tribunal on the ground that since the appeals filed before the Commissioner were dismissed in limine without issuing notice, no revision was maintainable before the Tribunal.
It was held that, the Registrar of the Tribunal may form a prima facie view and raise an objection that an appeal is maintainable or not and it will be for the assessee or the counsel to satisfy the Registrar that such revision is maintainable. Even if the Registrar holds against the assessee, the assessee will still have the right to claim it in the Tribunal which should decide that issue in accordance with Law.
Any Judicial or Quasi-Judicial action has to be based on reasons therefore whenever in future any such order has to be passed even by the Registrar or his subordinates, that order must be in writing and must be conveyed to the assessee so that the assessee knows why the appeal or revision is being returned by the Tribunal.
