| 22/8/2008 |
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| Board of Special Commissioners - Cases |
| Case No. 14a/51 |
Decided: 8 January, 1952 |
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The Board decided it was not the competent tribunal to decide whether Government Notice 660 of 1950, issued by the Governor General, was "intra vires" or not
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Appellant had objected on the grounds that (a) the Commissioner had not allowed depreciation on goodwill; (b) the tax for the year of assessment 1949 should have been based on the period 1 April 1948 to 31 March 1949. On the other hand the Commissioner raised a plea of nullity on the grounds that the appeal had been filed beyond the prescribed time limit.
On its part the Board raised the question whether Government Notice 660 was "intra vires" and requested both parties to make their submissions.
The Commissioner claimed that the Board was not the competent tribunal to decide. On the other hand appellant replied that just as the Board had been competent enough to hold in an earlier decision that there was a loophole in article 57(1) as it did not provide for a time limit for the entering of an appeal, it was equally competent to decide the point at issue.
The Board held that a board can never be vested with unlimited jurisdiction, as an ordinary court is, unless this is expressly bestowed upon it. The powers of the Board were restricted to "confirm, reduce, increase or annul the assessment or make such order thereon as to it may seem fit" (article 57(5), now 35(5) ITMA). Besides, while appeals to the Court of Appeal were made according to rules made by the Board which had established for the purpose under article 30 of the Code of Procedure, the rules which governed appeals to the Board were made by the Governor General.
The Board declared that it was not within its jurisdiction to decide whether Government Notice 660 was "intra vires", so it gave appellant thirty days' chance to seek a decision on this point from the Court.
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