The judgment of the Court was delivered by

J. B. MEHTA, J. - The Tribunal has posed the following three questions to this court :

"(1) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in holding that the failure to record a finding by the Sales Tax Officer about the absence of reasonable excuse before the penalty is imposed under section 10A read with section 10(d) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, is not material ?

(2) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was justified in holding that the applicant-firm had failed to make the use of kantan purchased by it against certificates in form C without reasonable excuse and, that, therefore, a penalty under section 10A read with section 10(d) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, was leviable ?

(3) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the Tribunal was correct in holding that the maximum penalty that can be imposed under section 10A of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, would be one and half times the amount of tax leviable under the Act if the applicant-firm had not issued C forms against the purchases ?"

The short facts which have given