S.R.RAJASEKHARAMURTHY, J. - (1.)The petitoner is a wholesale wine merchant doing business in Mysore and a dealer registered under the Karnataka Sales Tax Act and the Central Sales Tax Act. The petitioner indented Golden Eagle Beer from Mohan Makins Breweries Ltd., Mohan Nagar. Khopoli, U.P. and the said liquor was transported in a vehicle bearing registration No. MEQ 2790 from Khopoli in Uttar Pradesh to .Mysore. The said vehicle was checked by the Assistant Commercial Tax Officer in-charge of the Sales Tax Check Post, Kumarapatnam near Harihar on 20-5-1978. The truck was being driven by one Iqbal Singh and the truck contained 700 cortons of Golden Eagle Beer. The driver was called to the check-post and was asked to produce documents in respect of the goods. Since the driver did not produce the bill of sale or a delivery note, though he tendered some documents which were with him, a notice was issued to him under S. 28-A (4) of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 calling upon him to produce proper documents within a reasonable time or else a penalty of Rs. 12,000 would be levied for the alleged contravention of the provisions of S. 28-A (2) of the Act. The required documents were not produced and the Check-Post Officer levied a penalty of Rs. 12,000 by his order dated 22-5-1978. On the driver's refusal to receive the order, the same was said to have been affixed on the lorry. It appears a notice dated 31-5-1978 was also served on the petitioner. The records further reveal that the goods were not released by the petitioner by furnishing a Bank guarantee for Rs. 12,000.
(2.)The petitioner then filed an appeal on 12-6-1978 challenging the penalty levied before the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Appeals) enclosing the notice dated 31-5-1978.
(3.)On 14-9-1978 the Assistant Commissioner passed the order under S. 20 (5) rejecting the appeal as defective since the memorandum of appeal was not accompanied by the order levying the penalty. The petitioner preferred second appeal to the Karnataka Appellate Tribunal. The Tribunal dismissed the appeal on two grounds :-(i) that the petitioner was not an aggrieved person and so not competent to file the appeal and (ii) that the Assistant Commissioner was justified in dismissing the appeal as defective.