1. This writ petition does not deserve to be admitted as the petitioners have alternative and efficacious remedy under the provisions of Bihar Finance Act, 1981 in challenging the impugned order.
2. The Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Gopalganj Circle, Gopalganj passed the assessment order under Section 9(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (for short, 'CST Act') read with Section 17(3) of Bihar Finance Act, 1981 (for short, 'Act, 1981'). An appeal was preferred by the assessee to the Commissioner Commercial Taxes. The appellate authority, namely, Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, vide its order dated 8th March, 1993 affirmed the assessment order. Against the concurrent orders, the revision application was preferred by the assessee before the Commercial Taxes Tribunal, Bihar. The Tribunal upheld the orders of the appellate authority as well as the assessment authority vide its order dated 28th December, 1999.
3. Aggrieved thereby, a writ application was filed by the assessee before this Court. This Court allowed the writ petition, set aside the order of the Tribunal dated 28th December, 1999 and remitted the matter back to the Tribunal for reconsideration in accordance with law. Pursuant thereto, the matter was remitted back to the Tribunal. The Tribunal vide order dated 6th September, 2007 allowed the revision application as indicated in the order. It is this order which is impugned in the present writ petition by the commercial taxes authorities. That the Tribunal exercised power of revision under Section 46 of the Act, 1981 is not in dispute. We may re-produce Section 46 as it is:
46. Revision-(1) Subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government an order passed on an appeal under Sub-section (1) or (2) of Section 45 may, on application, be revised by the Tribunal.
(2) Subject as aforesaid any order passed under this part or the rules made thereunder, other than an order passed by the Commissioner under Sub-section (5) of Section 9 or an order against which an appeal has been provided in Section 45 may, on application be revised-
(a) by the Joint Commissioner, if the said order has been passed by an authority not above the rank of Deputy Commissioner, and
(b) by the Tribunal if the said order has been passed by the Joint Commissioner or Commissioner.
(3) Every application for revision under this Section shall be filed within sixty days of the communication of the order which is sought to be revised, but where the authority to whom the application lies is satisfied that the applicant has sufficient cause for not applying within time, it may condone the delay.
(4)(a) The commissioner may, on his own motion call for an examine the records of any proceeding in which any order has been passed by any other authority appointed under Section 9, for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of such order and may, after examining the record and making or causing to be made such enquiry as he may deem necessary, pass such order as he thinks proper.]
(5) No order under this Section shall be passed without giving the appellant as also the authority whose order is sought to be revised or their representative, a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
(6) Any revision against an appellate order filed and pending before the Joint Commissioner or a revision against any other order filed and pending before the Deputy Commissioner since before the enforcement of this part shall be deemed to have been filed and/ or transferred respectively to the Tribunal and Joint Commissioner, and any revision relating to a period prior to enforcement of this part against an appellate order, or against any other order passed by an authority not above the rank of Deputy Commissioner shall, after the enforcement of this part, be respectively filed before the Tribunal and the Joint Commissioner.
4. Section 48 provides the remedy by way of reference from the order of Tribunal passed under Section 46 of Act, 1981. Section 48 of Act, 1981 reads thus:
48. Statement of case to High Court-(1) Within ninety days from the passing by the Tribunal of any order under Section 46 or 47, the dealer or the person in respect of whom the order has been passed or the Commissioner may, by application in writing, together with a fee of one hundred rupees, where such application is made by the dealer require the Tribunal to refer to the High Court any question of law arising out of such order.
(2) if, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, the Tribunal refuses to make such reference, the applicant may, within forty-five days of such order, either-
(a) withdraw his application (and if the applicant who does so, is a dealer or a person the fee paid by him shall be refunded), or
(b) apply to the High Court against such refusal.
(3) If upon the receipt of an application under Clause (b) of Sub-section (2) the High Court is not satisfied that such refusal was justified, it may require the Tribunal to state a case and refer it to High Court and on receipt of such requisition the Tribunal shall state and refer the case accordingly.
(4) If the High Court is not satisfied that the statements in a case referred under this section are sufficient to enable it to determine the question raised thereby, it may refer the case back to the Tribunal to make such additions thereto or alterations therein as the Court may direct in that behalf.
(5) The High Court upon the hearing of any such case shall decide the question of law raised thereby, and shall deliver its judgment thereon containing the grounds on which such decision is founded, and shall send to the Tribunal a copy of such judgment under the seal of the Court and the signature of the Registrar, and the Tribunal shall, where necessary, amend its order in conformity with such judgment.
(6) Where a reference is made to the High Court under this section, the costs including the disposal of the fee referred to in Sub-section (1) shall be in the discretion of the Court.
(7) The payment of the amount of the tax including penalty, if, any, due in accordance with the order of the Tribunal in respect of which an application has been made under this section shall not be stayed pending the disposal of such application or any reference made in consequence thereof.
(8) The Tribunal or the High Court may admit an application under this section after the expiry of the period of limitation provided in this section, if it is satisfied that applicant had sufficient cause for not presenting the application within that period.
5. In view of the specific statutory remedy available to the petitioners under Section 48 of Act, 1981, we are satisfied that there is no justification in bypassing the statutory remedy.
6. Writ petition is, accordingly, dismissed in view of the alternative and efficient remedy available to the petitioners under Section 48. The petitioners may pursue the remedy under Section 48 of Act, 1981 in accordance with law in challenging the order of the Commercial Taxes Tribunal impugned in the present petition.