Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc. v. Allphin

The Illinois Department of Revenue and its director, Robert H. Allphin, appeal from an injunction against the assessment of a use tax upon oxygen and nitrogen supplied to plaintiff Keystone Consolidated Industries, Inc., by Chemetron.

Before taking up the substantive questions presented by this appeal, we must first consider the Department’s contention that Keystone should be precluded from equitable relief because of a failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The Department audited Keystone’s books and then informed Keystone that all payments to Chemetron for gaseous oxygen and nitrogen…