Veterinary Council v Corr

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judgment Date: 01 January 1954
• Date: 01 January 1954
• Court: Supreme Court

Veterinary Council v. Corr

THE VETERINARY COUNCIL

Appellants

and

FRANCIS CORR, INSPECTOR OF TAXES

Respondent.

Supreme Court.

Revenue - Income tax - Practice - Case stated - Transmission of case stated to the High Court - Statutory requirement that party so transmitting case stated shall send written notice thereof, "at or before the time" of such transmission, to other party - Failure to send notice until the day following the transmission - Whether sufficient compliance with statutory requirement - Meaning of "at or before the time" - Income Tax Act, 1918 (8 & 9 Geo. 5, c. 40), s. 149, sub-s. 1 (e).

Sect. 149, sub-s. 1 (e), of the Income Tax Act, 1918, provides as follows:—

"At or before the time when he transmits the case to the High Court, the party requiring it shall send notice in writing of the fact that the case has been stated on his application, together with a copy of the case, to the other party."

The representative of the appellants' solicitors, in accordance with the provisions of the said sub-section, transmitted the Case Stated herein to the High Court on the 23rd November, 1949. He was delayed in Court and consequently did not reach the office of the Revenue Solicitor to give the prescribed notice and to deliver a copy of the Case Stated until after the said office was closed. On the following day the said notice and the copy of the Case Stated were delivered at the office of the Revenue Solicitor. On the hearing of the Case Stated, it was contended on behalf of the respondent that the appellants had not complied with the mandatory requirements of the section and that accordingly the Court had no jurisdiction to hear and determine the appeal.

Held by Maguire J. that the provisions of the said section had not been complied with and, accordingly, that the Court had no jurisdiction to hear and determine the appeal. On an appeal by the appellants to the Supreme Court, it was

Held by the Supreme Court (Maguire C.J., Murnaghan, O'Byrne and Black JJ.), reversing Maguire J., that in view of the fact that the documents in question were delivered the following day, there had been sufficient compliance with the provisions of the sub-section.

The appellants, the Veterinary Council, appealed by way of Case Stated to the High Court from a decision of the President of the Circuit Court on an assessment made upon them by the Inspector of Taxes and confirmed by the Special Commissioner for Income Tax. At the hearing in the High Court counsel for the respondent informed the Court of a failure on the part of the appellants to serve notice of the lodging in the High Court of the Case Stated within the time prescribed by statute; the question therefore arose as to whether, in view of such failure, the Court had jurisdiction to hear the Case Stated.

The Case Stated, which was dated the 17th November, 1949, was received by the appellants' solicitors on the 22nd November, 1949. Their representative lodged the Case Stated in the High Court on the 23rd November, 1949, which was within the time limit of seven days from the receipt thereof as required by sub-s. 1 (d) of s. 149 of the Income Tax Act, 1918. He was, however, delayed on his return from Court and, as a result of the delay, was unable to serve the Revenue Solicitor "at or before the time" that he transmitted the Case to the High Court, as required by s. 149, sub-s. 1 (e), of the said Act, with a copy of the Case and with written notice of the fact that the Case had been so stated on his application. The said documents were, however, served by him on the following day, the 24th November, 1949. The failure to serve the said notice and the copy of the Case Stated on 23rd November was due to the fact that he only reached the Revenue Solicitor's on that date after office...