Banerjee, J. - (1.) This is a reference under Section 21 (3) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 (hereinafter referred to as the Act).
(2.) The assessee is a registered dealer under the Act. The period with which we are concerned is four quarters ending with Chaitra, 1360 B.S. (corresponding to April 13, 1954). In the return filed by the assessee-dealer, a sum of Rs. 15,99,800-1-9 was claimed as deduction from the gross turnover, being sales to registered dealers, under Section 5(2)(a)(ii) of the Act. The claim for deduction was supported by usual declarations, in the prescribed forms furnished by the purchasing dealers. The Commercial Tax Officer was not satisfied with the declarations covering sales amounting to Rs. 6,94,285-10-0, either because they were not duly filled up or because they were misused or because the purchasing dealers did not appear to him to be genuine dealers, and disallowed the claim to that extent.
(3.) The assessee-dealer preferred an appeal, against the order of the Commercial Tax Officer, before the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes. It was contended, before the appellate authority, that the disallowance of the sum of Rs. 6,94,285-10-0 by the Commercial Tax Officer was based on trivial grounds and that the assessee-dealer should not be penalised because some of the purchasing dealers, who were holders of registration certificates, became later on untraceable. The appeal partly succeeded before the Assistant Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and he reduced the amount of disallowance from Rs. 6,94,285-10-0 to Rs. 6,25,497-14-0.;