Law:

Section:

(a) Interpretation of statutes---.--- ---.----Mandatory/directory/provision, determination of---.--- Test---.--- Word "shall" used in a provision of law---.---Scope---.---Word 'shall' was to be construed in its ordinary grammatical meaning and normally the use of word 'shall' by the legislature branded a provision as mandatory, especially when an authority was required to do something in a particular manner---.---Ultimate test to determine whether a provision was mandatory or directory was that of ascertaining the legislative intent---.---While the use of the word 'shall' was not the sole factor which determined the mandatory or directory nature of a provision, it was certainly one of the indicators of legislative intent---.---Other factors included the presence of penal consequences in case of non-compliance, but the clearest indicator was the object and purpose of the statute and the provision in question---.---Court was duty bound to garner the real intent of the legislature as expressed in the law itself. Haji Abdul Karim and others v. M/S. Florida Builders (Pvt.) Limited PLD 2012 SC 247; Safeer Travels (Pvt.) Ltd. v. Muhammad Khalid Shafi through Legal Heirs PLD 2007 SC 504; Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif v. President of Pakistan and others PLD 1993 SC 473; Syed Zia Haider Rizvi and others v. Deputy Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Lahore and others 2011 SCMR 420; In re: Presidential Election, 1974 AIR 1974 SC 1682; Lachmi Narain v. Union of India AIR 1976 SC 714 and Dinesh Chandra Pandey v. High Court of Madhya Pradesh and another (2010) 11 SCC 500 ref. (b) Sales Tax Act (VII of 1990)---.--- ---.----Ss. 11(4), first proviso [erstwhile], 36(3), first proviso [erstwhile], 11(5) 74---.---Sales tax, recovery of---.---Show cause notice---.---Adjudication proceedings---.---Order-in-original---.---Limitation period---.---Question as to whether the limitation period contained in the first provisos to the erstwhile Ss. 11(4) 36(3) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, and the current S. 11(5) of the Act for passing an order thereunder was 'mandatory' or 'directory' in nature; held, that provisions of S. 11 and the erstwhile S.36 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 ("the Act") were mandatory…