Chapter XII APPEAL, REVISION AND REVIEW

1. (1) Subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government under this Act, any dealer, objecting to an order of assessment or an order levying interest or penalty passed by the prescribed authority against him, or an order under section 25 or a person, objecting to an order of penalty passed against him or an order under section 47, may appeal to the Joint Commissioner, or, the Deputy Commissioner specially authorised in this behalf.
2. (2) No appeal under sub-section (1) shall be admitted unless the dealer objecting to an order of assessment has paid twenty-five per cent. of the tax assessed or full amount of admitted tax, whichever is higher.
3. (3) Every appeal under this section shall be filed, in such form and the manner, as may be prescribed, within forty-five days of the receipt of the notice of demand but where the appellate authority is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient reason for not preferring the appeal within time, it may condone the delay.
4. (4) The appellate authority while disposing of an appeal against an order, other than an order under section 47, may--
   • (a) (i) confirm, annul, reduce, enhance or otherwise modify such order; or
     • (ii) set aside the order directing the authority below to make fresh order after further enquiry on specific points as directed; and
   • (b) in other cases, pass such order as it may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, deem fit.
5. (5) No order under this section shall be passed without giving reasonable opportunity of hearing to the appellant as also the authority whose order has been appealed against.

1. (1) Subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government, any of the authorities mentioned in section 10 or any person aggrieved by an order made by the Deputy Commissioner or Joint Commissioner under section 72 or the Commissioner under section 74 or section 77, may, prefer an appeal to the Tribunal.
2. (2) Where an appeal is preferred by a dealer, such appeal shall not be entertained by the Tribunal unless such dealer has deposited in the manner specified by the Tribunal, twenty-five per cent. of the amount in dispute: Provided that the Tribunal may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, waive or reduce the amount required to be deposited under this section.
3. (3) Every application for appeal under this section shall be filed within ninety days of the communication of the order which is sought to be appealed, but where the Tribunal is satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not applying within time, it may condone the delay.
4. (4) No order under this section shall be passed without giving the applicant as also the authority whose order is sought to be appealed or their representative a reasonable opportunity of being heard.
5. (5) On receipt of an appeal under sub-section (1), the Tribunal may, after giving the parties to the appeal, an opportunity of being heard, pass such order thereon as it thinks fit, confirming, modifying or setting aside the order appealed against.
6. (6) The Tribunal shall send the copy of every order made by it to the parties to the appeal and to the concerned authority against whose order the appeal had been preferred.
7. (7) The appeal filed before the Tribunal under sub-section (1) shall be dealt with by it as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made by it to dispose of the appeal finally within six months from the date of receipt of the appeal.

The Commissioner may, suo motu, call for and examine the record of any proceeding recorded by any authority, officer or person subordinate to him under this Act and if he considers that any order passed therein is erroneous in so far as it is prejudicial to the interest of revenue, pass such order as he deems fit after giving the dealer or the person concerned an opportunity of being heard.

A dealer shall not be entitled to produce additional evidence whether oral or documentary in appeal before the appellate authority or in revision before the Commissioner or the Tribunal except where the evidence sought to be adduced is evidence, which the prescribed authority had wrongly refused to admit or which, after exercise of due diligence, was not within his knowledge or could not be produced by him before the prescribed authority or for the production of which adequate time was not given by the prescribed authority and in every such case upon the additional evidence being taken on record reasonable opportunity for challenge or rebuttal shall be given.

Subject to such rules as may be made by the State Government under this Act, any authority appointed under section 10 or the Tribunal may review any order passed by it, if such review is, in the opinion of the said authority or the Tribunal, as the case may be, necessary on account of a mistake which is apparent from the record: Provided that no such review, if it has the effect of enhancing the tax, interest or penalty or of reducing a refund shall be made unless the said authority or the Tribunal, as the case may be, has given the dealer, or the person concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

1. (1) If any question arises, otherwise than in proceedings before a court, or before the prescribed authority has commenced assessment of a dealer under section 27 or section 28 or section 29 or section 30 or section 31 or section 32 or section 33, whether, for the purposes of this Act,--
   • (a) any person, society, club or association or any firm or any branch or department of any firm, is a dealer, or
   • (b) any particular thing done to any goods amounts to or results in the manufacture of goods, within the meaning of that term, or
   • (c) any transaction is a sale or a purchase, or where it is a sale or a purchase the sale price or the purchase price, as the case may be, thereof, or
   • (d) any particular person or dealer is required to be registered, or
   • (e) in the case of any person or dealer liable to pay tax, any tax is payable by such person or dealer in respect of any particular sale or purchase, or if tax is payable, the rate thereof, or
   • (f) input tax credit can be claimed on any particular transaction of purchase and if it can be claimed, what are the conditions and restrictions subject to which such input tax credit can be claimed, or
   • (g) the order passed under sub-section (2) of section 25 is just and proper, or
   • (h) any other question involving interpretation of any provisions of this Act, the Commissioner shall, subject to such rules as may be made, make an order determining such question. Explanation.-- For the purposes of this sub-section, the prescribed authority shall be deemed to have commenced assessment of the dealer under section 27 or section 28 or section 29 or section 30 or section 31 or section 32 or section 33, when the dealer is served with any notice by the prescribed authority under the said sections.
2. (2) The Commissioner may direct that the determination shall not affect the liability of any person under this Act, as respect any sale or purchase affected prior to the determination or such date as he may specify.
3. (3) If any such question arises from any order already passed by any authority or court under this Act or the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 (Bihar Act 5 of 1981), as it stood before its repeal by section 94, no such question shall be entertained for determination under this section; but such question may be raised in appeal against such order.

1. (1) The Commissioner may, after giving the parties a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter, by order in writing after recording his reason for so doing, transfer any proceedings or class of proceedings under any provision of this Act, from himself to any other officer and he may likewise transfer any such proceeding, including a proceeding pending with any officer or already transferred under this section, from any officer to any other officer.
2. (2) For the purpose of this section, any proceeding shall be deemed to have commenced only when any authority having appropriate jurisdiction issues notice under the provisions of this Act, rules or notifications and the proceedings shall be deemed to be pending only after the issue of such notice.
3. (3) Where no proceedings are pending before any authority, then any authority having appropriate jurisdiction over a person or dealer, may initiate and complete any proceedings whatsoever. Explanation.--In this section, the word "proceedings" in relation to any dealer means all proceedings under this Act in respect of any year, which may be pending on the date of such order or which may have been completed on or before such date, and also includes all proceedings under this Act which may be commenced after the date of such order in respect of the said year in relation to such dealer.

1. (1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from every order passed by the Tribunal, if the High Court is satisfied that the case involves a substantial question of law.
2. (2) The Commissioner or a dealer aggrieved by any order passed by the Tribunal,
   • (i) under the Bihar Finance Act, 1981 (Bihar Act 5 of 1981), as it stood before its repeal by section 94, on or after the date of commencement of this Act; or
   • (ii) under this Act, may file an appeal to the High Court, and such appeal under this section shall be filed within ninety days from the date of the communication to the dealer or the Commissioner on any question of law arising out of such order./hr (3) Where the High Court is satisfied that a substantial question of law is involved in any case, it shall formulate the question.
3. (4) The appeal shall be heard only on the question so formulated and the respondents shall, at the hearing of the appeal, be allowed to argue that the case does not involve such question: Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall be deemed to take away or abridge the power of the High Court to hear, for reasons to be recorded, the appeal on any other substantial question of law not formulated by it, if it is satisfied that the case involves such question.
4. (5) (a) The High Court shall decide the substantial question of law so formulated or involved and deliver such judgment thereon containing the grounds on which such decision is founded and may award such costs as it deems fit.
   • (b) The High Court may determine any issue which--
     • (i) has not been determined by the Tribunal, or
     • (ii) has been wrongly determined by the Tribunal, by reason of a decision on such question of law as is referred to in sub-section (1).
5. (6) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) relating to appeals to High Court, shall as far as may be, apply in the case of appeals under this section.

1. (1) When an appeal has been filed before the High Court under section 79, it shall be heard by a bench of not less than two Judges of the High Court, and shall be decided in accordance with the opinion of such Judges or of the majority, if any, of such Judges.
2. (2) Where there is no such majority, the Judges shall state the point of law upon which they differ and the case shall then be heard upon that point only by one or more of other Judges of the High Court and such point shall be decided according to the opinion of the majority of Judges who have heard the case including those who first heard it.