The West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987.
West Bengal Act 8 of 1987
[18th July, 1987.] Assent of the Governor was first published in the Calcutta Gazette, Extraordinary, of the 8th July, 1987. An Act to provide for the setting up of a Taxation Tribunal and for the adjudication or trial by such Tribunal of any disputes, complaints or offences with respect to the matters relating to levy, assessment, collection and enforcement of any tax under any specified State Act in pursuance of article 323B of the Constitution of India and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Whereas it is expedient to provide for the setting up of a Taxation Tribunal and for the adjudication or trial by such Tribunal of any disputes, complaints or offences with respect to levy, assessment, collection and enforcement of any tax under any specified State Act and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto; It is hereby enacted as follows:- 1. Short title, extent and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987. (2) It extends to the whole of West Bengal. (3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act. 2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context, -
(a) "Bench" means a bench of the Tribunal;
(b) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Tribunal;
(c) "Chief Justice" means the Chief Justice of the High Court
at Calcutta;
(d) "Governor" means the Governor of the State of West
Bengal;
(e) "High Court" means the High Court at Calcutta;
(f) "Judicial Member" means a Member of the Tribunal appointed
as such under clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 3;
(g) "Member" means a Member of the Tribunal and includes the
Chairman;
(h) "notification" means a notification published in the
Official Gazette;
(i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this
Act;
(j) "rules" means rules made under this Act;
(k) "specified State Act" means a State Act specified in the
Schedule to this Act;
(l) "State" means the State of West Bengal;
(m) "Technical Member" means a Member of the Tribunal who is
not a Judicial Member;
(n) "Tribunal" means the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal
constituted under section 3, [and, for
the purposes of sub-section (12) of section 3, includes the
Chairman.]
3. Establishment of Tribunal,
composition and functions thereof. - (1) The State Government may, by
notification, establish a Tribunal to be called the West Bengal Taxation
Tribunal which shall consist of a Chairman and not less than one Judicial Member
and one Technical Member.
[Provided that notwithstanding
the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of a Judicial Member or Technical
Member, the Tribunal shall, subject to the provisions of sub-section (12) of
this section and the proviso to sub-section (1) of section 6, continue to
exercise the jurisdiction powers and authority and perform the functions
conferred on it by or under this Act.]
(2) (a) The Chairman and the Judicial Members shall be appointed by the
Governor in consultation with the Chief Justice:
Provided that in the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office
of the Chairman by reason of his death, resignation or otherwise, or when the
Chairman is unable to discharge his functions owing to absence, illness or any
other cause, [The
Judicial Member or, where the Tribunal consists of more than one Judicial
Member, the Judicial Member senior to all other Judicial Members in the Tribunal
shall discharge] the functions of the Chairman until the Chairman
resumes his office or a Chairman appointed in accordance with the provisions of
this Act enters upon his office.
(b) A Technical Member shall be appointed by the Governor on
the recommendation of the Selection Committee of three members constituted by
the Governor, of which the Chairman shall be [a
sitting Judge] of the High Court nominated as such by the Chief
Justice and two other Members nominated by the State Government.
(3) No
person shall be qualified for appointment -
(a) as Chairman unless he has been a Judge of the High Court
or has held, for a period of not less than one year, the office as a Judicial
Member;
(b) as a Judicial Member unless he has been, or is qualified
to be, a Judge of a High Court;
(c) as a Technical Member unless he is or has been an officer
of the State Government or the Central Government, not below the rank of a
Secretary to that Government, in the Secretariat or elsewhere, and has dealt
with revenue or taxation matters during his service in the Government in the
capacity of a Deputy Secretary and above to the State Government or the Central
Government for a period of not less than three years in the aggregate.
[Explanation.
- For the purpose of this clause, the expression "a Secretary" includes a
Special Secretary.]
[(4)
The Chairman shall hold office for a term of five years from the date on which
he enters upon his office but he shall be eligible for reappointment for another
term of five years:
Provided that no Chairman shall hold office after he has attained the
[age
of sixty-eight years] :
Provided further that the Chairman who has entered upon his office [before
the 1st day of April, 2007] shall continue to hold office
for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or
until he attains the age of sixty-eight years, whichever is earlier.
(5) A Judicial Member or a Technical Member shall hold office as such for
a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office, but he
shall be eligible for reappointment for another term of five years:]
Provided that no Judicial Member or Technical Member shall hold office as
such after he has attained the [age
of sixty-five years] :
Provided further that a Judicial Member who has been a Judge of the High
Court, and who has entered upon his office [before
the 1st day of April, 2007], shall continue to hold office
as such for a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his
office or until he attains the age of sixty-eight years, whichever is earlier:
Provided also that a Judicial Member who is qualified to be a Judge of
the High Court and who has entered upon his office [before
the 1st day of April, 2007] or a Technical Member entering
upon his office before the said date, shall continue to hold office as such for
a term of five years from the date on which he enters upon his office or until
he attains the [age
of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier].
(6) The Chairman or any other Member shall not be removed by the Governor
from his office except on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity, after
an inquiry made by the Chief Justice or by a sitting Judge of the High Court as
may be nominated by the Chief Justice in which such Chairman or other Member had
been informed of the charges against him and given a reasonable opportunity of
being heard in respect of the charges:
Provided that for the aforesaid inquiry the State Government may, by
rules, regulate the procedure for the investigation of misbehaviour or
incapacity of the Chairman or any other Member.
(7) The Chairman or any other Member shall be ineligible -
(a) for further employment under the State Government, or
under any local authority or under any corporation owned or controlled by the
State Government; and
(b) to appear, act or plead before the Tribunal :
Provided
that a Judicial Member shall be eligible to be appointed as Chairman in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(8) The Chairman and all other Members shall be deemed to be public
servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.
(9) The salaries and allowances payable to, and other terms and
conditions of service of, the Chairman and other Members shall be such as may be
prescribed.
(10) The State Government shall in consultation with the Chairman
determine the nature and categories of the officers and other employees required
to assist the Tribunal in the discharge of its functions, and provide the
Tribunal with such officers and other employees. The salaries and allowances and
conditions of service of the officers and other employees shall be such as may
be prescribed.
(11) The Chairman shall exercise financial and administrative powers for
the functioning of the Tribunal or may delegate the same in accordance with
rules made under this Act.
(12) The Tribunal shall exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority and
perform the functions conferred on it by or under this Act by Benches of two or
more Members, as may be determined by the Chairman, consisting of at least one
Judicial Member and one Technical Member.
4. Power of the Tribunal to make regulation. -
Subject to the previous sanction of the State Government, the Tribunal shall,
for the purpose of regulating its procedure (including the place or places at
which the Tribunal or the Benches shall sit) and framing the rules of business,
make regulations consistent with the provisions of this Act and the rules made
thereunder:
Provided that the regulations so made shall be published in the
Official Gazette.
5. The State Acts to which this Act shall apply. -
[This
Act shall apply to every State Act specified in the Schedule to this Act with
effect from the date on which such State Act is so specified, and the Tribunal,
save as otherwise expressly provided under such State Act and subject to the
other provisions of this Act, shall] exercise jurisdiction, powers
and authority in relation to all matters of adjudication or trial of any
disputes, complaints or offences with respect to levy, assessment, collection
and enforcement of any tax under any specified State Act and of matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto; and no Court except the Supreme Court
of India shall, with effect from such date, exercise any jurisdiction, powers or
authority in the matter of adjudication or trial of any disputes, complaints or
offences with respect to the aforesaid matters.
6. Jurisdiction, powers and authority of the
Tribunal. - (1) Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the
Tribunal shall [exercise,
in respect of a State Act, with effect from the date on which such State Act is
specified in the Schedule [(referred to in section
5)],] all the jurisdiction, powers and authority
exercisable immediately before that day by all Courts including the High Court
but excluding the Supreme Court of India for adjudication or trial of disputes
or complaints or offences with respect to all matters of levy, assessment,
collection and enforcement of any tax under any specified State Act and matters
connected therewith or incidental thereto:
Provided that where the matter relates to disposal of question of
constitutional validity of any provision of any specified State Act, the matter
shall be decided by a Bench constituted of at least three Members of which the
Chairman shall be one.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, all
proceedings triable by any Court or Courts in accordance with the provisions of
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, shall continue to be tried by such Court,
and the Tribunal shall have no jurisdiction to try such proceedings.
Explanation. - For the purpose of this sub-section, proceedings
shall include proceedings under Chapter XXIX and Chapter XXX of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, 1973.
7. Reference Jurisdiction. - [(1)
If -
(a) on application by any aggrieved person or any authority,
made in accordance with the provisions of any specified State Act against an
order passed by any other authority, the appropriate authority refers to the
Tribunal any question of law arising out of such order, or
(b) the application for reference referred to in clause (a) is
refused by the appropriate authority under the said specified State Act, and on
application to the Tribunal, the case is referred to it in pursuance of its
direction,
the Tribunal may call for further information and direct the
appropriate authority to make such addition or alteration to the statement made
by the said appropriate authority so as to make it sufficient to enable the
Tribunal to determine the question raised in the case referred to, and
thereafter the Tribunal shall hear such case, decide the question of law raised
thereby as expeditiously as possible and deliver its judgment thereon containing
the reasons on which such decision is founded.]
[(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act or in any specified
State Act, references to the High Court in any specified State Act shall, with
effect from the [date
on which such State Act is specified in the Schedule referred to in section
5,] be deemed to be referred to the Tribunal.]
8. Extraordinary jurisdiction. - (1) Subject to the
other provisions of this Act, a person aggrieved by any order passed or action
taken pertaining to any matter within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal may make
an application to it for the redressal of his grievance on any of the grounds
referred to in sub-section (3).
Explanation. - For the purposes of this sub-section, "order" means
an order made by any authority under any specified State Act and "action" means
an action taken by any authority under any of the specified State Acts or by the
State Government in the matter of, and in relation to, levy, assessment,
collection and enforcement of any tax.
(2) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be made within sixty
days from the date of such order passed or action taken, as the case may be, or
within such further time as may be allowed by the Tribunal for cause shown to
its satisfaction, and shall be made in such form and accompanied by such
documents or other evidence and by such fee as may be prescribed:
Provided that an application may be entertained within sixty days from
the commencement of clause (a) of section 7 where the applicant proves to the
satisfaction of the Tribunal that the order or action by which he is aggrieved
was passed or taken, as the case may be, within sixty days prior to the
commencement of the aforesaid clause (a) of the said section and that he has not
moved the High Court against such order or action passed or taken under the
specified State Act.
(3) Save as provided expressly in this Act, the Tribunal shall not
ordinarily admit an application referred to in sub-section (1) unless it is
satisfied that -
(a) the applicant has availed of all remedial measures
available to him under the relevant specified State Act; or
(b) the remedial measures available under the provisions of
the relevant specified State Act are not adequate and shall cause undue hardship
to the applicant; or
(c) the application referred to in sub-section (1) involves a
substantial question of law relating to the interpretation of the Constitution
of India or the specified State Act or rules framed thereunder or of
jurisdiction of any of the authorities under the said specified State
Act.
(4) The Tribunal may, if satisfied after such enquiry as it may deem fit
that the requirements under this Act and the rules made thereunder are complied
with in relation to the application referred to in sub-section (1), admit such
application; but where the Tribunal is not so satisfied, it may reject the
application summarily giving short reasons therefor.
(5) Where an application under sub-section (1) has been admitted by, or a
case has been transferred to, the Tribunal, it shall decide the subject-matter
of the application or the case, as the case may be, as expeditiously as
possible, and ordinarily within six months from the date of such admission or
from the receipt of records from the High Court in respect of cases transferred
to the Tribunal.
(6) While deciding the subject-matter or case under sub-section (5) the
Tribunal shall issue such direction or pass such order as it may deem fit.
(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other provision of this Act
or in any other law for the time being in force, no interim order (whether by
way of injunction or stay or in any other manner) shall be made on, or in any
proceeding relating to an application made under sub-section (1) unless -
(a) copies of such application and of all documents in support
of the plea for such interim order are duly furnished seven days in advance to
the party against whom such application is made or proposed to be made;
(b) such amount of tax, if any, involved in the matter or such
amount of security as may be deemed adequate by the Tribunal to safeguard the
interest of State revenue, is paid or furnished by the applicant; and
(c) opportunity of being heard is given to the party against
whom such application is made:
Provided that the Tribunal may [relax
or dispense with the requirements of clause (a), clause (b) or clause (c) on
such terms and conditions as the Tribunal may consider fit and
proper] and pass an interim order, as an exceptional measure if it is
satisfied for reasons to be recorded in writing that it is necessary so to do
for preventing any loss being caused to the applicant which may dislocate,
disrupt or lead to closure of his business, or which cannot be adequately
compensated in money, but if the application referred to in sub-section (1) is
not disposed of within a period of six months from the date when the order was
made, the interim order shall, if it is not vacated earlier, stand vacated :
[Provided
further that where the party against whom an application is made under
sub-section (1) comes to know that the applicant has prayed for and interim
order in such application, such party shall be entitled to appear at the hearing
thereof and shall have opportunity of being heard.]
[(8)
Where an interim order is passed under the first proviso to sub-section (7), the
applicant shall serve forthwith, if he has not served earlier, copies of the
application made under sub-section (1) and of all documents in support of the
plea for such interim order and a copy of the interim order obtained, if any,
upon, or intimate such interim order to, all the parties against whom such
interim order has been obtained.]
[(9)
Every application for vacating or modifying any interim order passed under
sub-section (7) shall, unless the Tribunal directs otherwise, be made only after
prior notice to the person who made the application under sub-section (1) and
the other parties to such application.]
9. Decision to be by majority. - The decision of a
Bench shall be by a majority, and if the Members are equally divided then the
application shall be referred for decision to a Bench of three Members.
10. Power to award costs. - The Tribunal shall have
the power to award costs in any matter decided by it and the amount of such
costs awarded against an authority under the relevant specified State Act shall
be payable by the appropriate authority under the said Act, or in case the
amount of such cows awarded against any other person shall be paid by him to the
Tribunal in such manner as may be prescribed.
11. Proceedings to be deemed to be judicial
proceedings. - All proceedings before the Tribunal shall be deemed to be
judicial proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and 228, of the
Indian Penal Code.
12. Power to punish for contempt of the Tribunal. -
The Tribunal shall have, and exercise, the same jurisdiction, powers and
authority in respect of contempt of itself as a High Court has and may exercise
and, for this purpose, the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, shall
have effect subject to the modifications that -
(a) the reference therein to a High Court shall be construed
as including a reference to the Tribunal;
(b) the reference therein to the Advocate-General in section
15 of the said Act shall be construed as a reference to the Advocate-General of
the State:
Provided that such jurisdiction, powers and authority shall be
exercised by a Bench of which the Chairman is a Member.
13. Power of the Tribunal to take evidence on oath,
etc. - The Tribunal shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the same
powers as are vested in a Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when
trying a suit, in respect of the following matters, namely:-
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and
examining him on oath or affirmation;
(b) requiring the discovery, inspection and production of
books of account and other document; and
(c) examining witness or issuing commissions for the
examination of witness.
14. Exclusion of jurisdiction of
Courts. - [(1)
On and from the date from which jurisdiction, powers and authority becomes
exercisable under this Act by the Tribunal, the High Court or any Civil Court
except the Supreme Court of India shall not be entitled to entertain any
proceeding or to exercise any jurisdiction or shall not have any jurisdiction,
powers and authority in relation to the adjudication or trial of disputes,
complaints or offences with respect to levy, collection, assessment and
enforcement of any tax under any specified State Act and any matter connected
therewith or incidental thereto.]
[(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the High Court shall
have, and the Tribunal shall not have, jurisdiction, power and authority in
relation to any [appeal
in relation to any specified State Act pending before the High Court on the date
on which such State Act is specified in the Schedule referred to in section
5.]]
15. Transfer of pending cases from the High Court.
- (1) All matters and proceedings [other
than appeals] relating to the levy, assessment, collection and
enforcement of-tax and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto [in
relation to any specified State Act,] pending before the High Court
[on
the date on which such State Act is specified in the Schedule referred to in
section 5,] shall stand transferred to the Tribunal for disposal in
accordance with the provisions of this Act:
Provided that, if any matter or any proceeding [other than
appeal] has been heard in part or heard but judgment is not delivered
on or before the aforesaid date, nothing in this section shall apply to such
matter or proceeding.
Explanation. - No application or proceeding shall be deemed to
have been heard in part only by reason of any interim order having been passed
therein.
(2) Where any matter or proceeding [other
than appeals] stands transferred from the High Court to the Tribunal
under sub-section (1), -
(a) the High Court shall, as soon as may be after such
transfer, forward the records of such case or other proceeding arising on the
basis of application to the Tribunal; and
(b) the Tribunal, on receipt of such records, proceed to deal
with such case or application, so far as may be, as in the same manner as
provided in section 7 or section 8, as the case may be, from the stage which was
reached before such transfer or from any earlier stage or de novo as the
Tribunal may deem fit.
Provided that interlocutory order granted on an
application by the High Court till the disposal of any rule shall continue for a
period not exceeding twelve weeks [or,
in the case of any interlocutory order pertaining to any matter or proceeding
under any State Act specified in the Schedule to this Act after the commencement
of sub-section (1) of section 6, from [(the
date on which such State Act is specified in the Schedule referred to in section
5)]] unless the Tribunal by an order varies or modifies
the same earlier or extends the same;
[*
* * * * * * * *]
16. Review. - The Tribunal may, upon an application
made within sixty days from the date of order or on its own motion at any time
within four years from the date of the order, review an order passed by it under
this Act with a view to rectifying any mistake apparent from the record and
amend its earlier order.
17. Appearance before the Tribunal in any
proceeding. - (1) A person making an application to the Tribunal may either
appear in person or take the assistance of a legal practitioner of his choice to
plead his case before the Tribunal.
(2) The State Government may appoint one or more persons (whether legal
practitioners or not) as its representative to act or plead before the Tribunal.
(3) The State Government may appoint and authorise, in addition to the
appropriate authority under the specified State Act, an officer to receive
processes against the State Government or an officer of such Government issued
by the Tribunal.
18. Power make rules. - (1) The State Government
may, by notification, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing power, such rules may provide for -
(b) the procedure of investigation referred to in the proviso
to sub-section (6) of section 3;
(c) salaries and allowances payable to, and other terms and
conditions of service of, the Chairman and other Members, as referred to in
sub-section (9), determination of the nature and categories of officers and
other employees, salaries and allowances payable to them and condition of their
service as referred to in sub-section (10), and the financial and administrative
powers of, and delegation of such powers by, the Chairman as referred to in
sub-section (11), of section 3;
(d) procedures and manners for stating the case to the
Tribunal under section 7;
(e) the form, documents and evidence, and fees, as referred to
in sub-section (2) of section 8;
(f) manners of payment of cost awarded by the Tribunal as
referred to in section 10.
(3) All rules made under this Act shall be laid,
as soon as may be after they are made, before the State Legislature.
19. Power of State Government to remove
difficulties. - (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any of the
provisions of this Act, the State Government may, by order published in the
Official Gazette, make such provisions, or take such measures, not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appears to it to be necessary
or expedient for the purposes of removing the difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of
three years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Any order made by the State Government under sub-section (1) shall be
laid, as soon as may be after such order is made, before the State Legislature.
Schedule
[See section 2(k).]
| Year | Number | Short title of the specified State Act. |
| 1941 | VI | The Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941. |
| 1941 | XI | The Bengal Raw Jute Taxation Act, 1941. |
| 1954 | IV | The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954. |
| 1974 | XI | The West Bengal Motor Spirit Sales Tax Act, 1974. |
| 1979 | VI | The West Bengal State Tax on Professions, Trades, Callinng and Employments Act, 1979. |
| [1973] | XLIII | The West Bengal Primary Education Act, 1973. |
| 1976 | XIV | The West Bengal Rural Employment and Production Act, 1976. |
| 1982 | VI | The West Bengal Entertainment-cum-Amusement Tax Act, 1982. |
| [1880] | IX | The Cess Act, 1880. |
| 1922 | V | The Bengal Amusements Tax Act, 1922. |
| 1944 | IV | The Bengal Agricultural Income-tax Act, 1944. |
| 1962 | XX | The West Bengal Taxes on Entry of Goods in Local Areas Act, 1962. |
| 1972 | V | The Taxes on Entry of Goods into Calcutta Metropolitan Area Act, 1972. |
| 1972 | XXI | The West Bengal Entertainment and Luxuries (Hotels and Restaurants) Tax Act, 1972. |
| 1976 | VIII | The West Bengal Urban Land Taxation Act, 1976. |
| 1979 | XVII | The West Bengal Multi-storeyed Building Tax Act, 1979. |
| [1994] | XV | The West Bengal Luxury Tax Act, 1994. |
| [1994] | XLIX | The West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994. |
| [1909] | V | The Bengal Excise Act, 1909. |
| 1996 | XIX | The West Bengal Building Tax Act, 1996. |
| [2001] | XV | The West Bengal State Tax on Consumption or Use of Goods Act, 2001. |
| [2003] | XXXVII | The West Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003. |
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