PADMANABHAN, J.


These two writ petitions have been filed by the assessee under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act as well as under the Central Sales Tax Act. The prayer in Writ Petition No. 2325 of 1979 is for the issue of a writ of certiorarified mandamus to quash the order dated 6th March, 1979, passed by the 1st respondent, the Joint Commercial Tax Officer, Tambaram Assessment Circle, Tambaram, and to direct him to grant permission to pay tax under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956


"Subject to the other provisions of this Act and the Rules made thereunder, the authorities for the time being empowered to assess, reassess, collect and enforce payment of any tax under the general sales tax law of the appropriate State, shall, on behalf of the Government of India, assess, reassess, collect and enforce payment of tax, including any penalty, payable by a dealer under this Act as if the tax, or penalty payable by such a dealer under this Act is a tax or penalty payable under the general sales tax law of the State; and for this purpose they may exercise all or any of the powers they have under the general sales tax law of the State and the provisions of such law, including provisions relating to returns, provisional assessment, advance payment of tax, registration of the business of the transferee of any business, imposition of the tax liability of a person carrying on business on the transferee of, or successor to, such business, transfer of liability of any firm or Hindu undivided family to pay tax in the event of the dissolution of such firm or partition of such family, recovery of tax from third parties, appeals, reviews, revisions, references, refunds, rebates, penalties, charging or payment of interest, compounding of offences and treatment of documents furnished by a dealer as confidential, shall apply accordingly :


Provided that if in any State or part thereof there is no general sales tax law in force, the Central Government may, by rules made in this behalf make necessary provision for all or any of the matters specified in this sub-section." *


The effect of section 9(2) is that the machinery of provisions of the general sales tax law of a State with regard to assessment including returns, provisional assessment, etc., will automatically be attracted in the matter of assessment under the Central Sales Tax Act : vide Khemka and Co. v. State of Maharashtra. The State Government has framed the Central Sales Tax (Tamil Nadu) Rules in exercise of the powers conferred on the State by sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 13 of the Central Sales Tax Act. Rule 5(1) of the Central Sales Tax (Tamil Nadu) Rules is as follows :

"Every dealer, other than those specified in the proviso to sub-rule (1) of rule 11 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, registered under section 7 of the Act, shall submit to the assessing authority a return in form I showing his transactions in the course of inter-State trade or commerce or in the course of export of the goods out of the territory of India and the amount or amounts collected by way of tax together with the connected declaration form or duplicate of such form, where the original has been lost and the certificates in forms D, E-I and E-II. The return for each month shall be submitted so as to reach the assessing authority on or before the 25th of the succeeding month except for the month of February, for which the return shall be submitted so as to reach the assessing authority on or before the 20th of March. Along with the return, every dealer shall also submit a chalan or a crossed cheque in favour of the assessing authority for the amount of tax due under the Act


Provided that in respect of the sales during the year ending 31st March, 1959, the certificates in forms E-I and E-II may be furnished at any time before the final assessment.


Provided, also that if, for any reason, the selling dealer is unable to submit any certificate in form D relating to a month along with the return in form I due for the month, such certificate may be submitted at any time before the final assessment of the accounts for that year." *


Rule 11 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, provides as follows :


"The period of turnover in relation to any dealer liable to pay tax under this Act shall be the same as the period in respect of which he is liable to submit returns under the general sales tax law of the appropriate State :rovided that in relation to a dealer who is not liable to submit returns under the general sales tax law of the appropriate State, the period of turnover shall be a quarter ending on the 30th June, 30th September, 31st December and 31st March, as the case may be, in a financial year." *


The effect of rule 11 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957, is that the period of turnover in relation to any dealer who is liable to pay tax under the Central Sales Tax Act shall be fixed only on the basis of the period in respect of which he is liable to submit his returns under the general sales tax law of the State. So far as the petitioner is concerned, it is liable to submit its returns under the general sales tax law o

f this State on an annual basis, in terms of the order of the 1st respondent dated 6th March, 1979. Once I come to this conclusion, it naturally follows that it is not bound to file monthly returns in terms of rule 5(1) of the Central Sales Tax (Tamil Nadu) Rules. In view of this, it is unnecessary for me to consider the question of vires of rule 5(1), as I have already stated. In the circumstances, I quash the impugned order. A writ of mandamus will issue directing the 1st respondent to permit the petitioner to file its returns under the Central sales tax annually. No costs.