S.B.Capoor, J.

1. This is a reference made by the Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Punjab, under the provisions of section 22 of the East Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, (East Punjab Act No. XLVI of 1948, hereinafter referred to as Act). It came up originally before a Division Bench of this Court and in view of the conflict of authority on the question involved in the reference the Division Bench has referred the case for decision to a Full Bench. The Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Punjab, did not specifically pose the question of law. It has been formulated by the learned Judges constituting the Division Bench as follows:

Whether a partnership firm, which is a registered firm under the provisions of the Punjab Sales Tax Act and which was in existence throughout the period for which assessment of sales tax has to be made, ceases to be liable to the said assessment by the mere fact that it has dissolved before that proceedings for assessment are initiated."

2. The facts giving rise to this reference are stated in the referring order by the Division Bench and so far as material are these. The firm, which was the petitioner before the Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Punjab is Messrs. Jullundur Vegetable Syndicate, which is a partnership firm. It commenced business on the 4th of October, 1952, and was dissolved with effect from the 11th of July, 1953 and intimation of dissolution of the firm under section 16 of the Act was sent to the Department on the 18th of throughout the accounting period from the 4th of October, 1952, to the 31st of March, 1953 and an assessment of sales tax under the Act was made on the 30th of May, 1953, for this period but it was quashed by the Financial Commissioner (Revenue) on the ground that the assessing authority had no jurisdiction to make the assessment. Then a fresh assessment was made under section 11 of the Act on the best judgment basis on the 3rd of September, 1955, I. e., more than two years after the notice of dissolution of the firm had been received by the Department, but on appeal by the assessee the Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner by his order dated the 20th of October, 1956, reduced the figure of taxable turnover to Rs. 9,61,591/11/3 and the tax payable to Rs. 30,049/12/-. The revision taken by the assessee to the Financial Commissioner failed and in that revision one of the objections raised by the assessee was that proceedings for assessment of the sales tax could not be initiated after its dissolution. This objection was repelled by the Financial Commissioner by his order dated the 25th of March, 1958, and then on being moved by the assessee the reference under section 22 of the Act was made.

3. The Act has been amended from time to time, but we are concerned with the Act as it stood before its amendment by Punjab Act No. X of 1954. the definition of the term "dealer" in clause (d) of section 2 of the Act as it then stood (omitting the Explanations which are not relevant for our purpose) was as follows:

"Dealer means any person, firm, association or Hindu joint family, engaged in the business of selling or supplying goods, whether for commission, remuneration or otherwise, in Punjab and includes the Government or its Departments, and where the main place of business of any such person, firm association or Hindu joint family is not in the said State dealer means the manager or other agents of such person, firm, association of Hindu joint family in Punjab in respect of the such business."

4. Sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Act, which was the charging section, provided that subject to the provisions of sections 5 and 6, every dealer except one dealing exclusively in good s declared tax-free under section 6 whose gross turnover during the year immediately preceding the commencement of the Act exceeded the taxable quantum shall be liable to pay tax under the Act. Section 5 provided that there shall be levied on the taxable turnover every year of a dealer a ta