2002 (5) TMI 839 - AT - VAT and Sales Tax

Summary

Issues involved:
Challenging an impugned order of reassessment and notice issued in form No. VII under the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987 based on the grounds of exceeding statutory period of limitation and non-compliance with rule 55 of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941.

Detailed Analysis:

1. Impugned Order of Reassessment and Notice Issued in Form No. VII:
The petitioner challenged the order of reassessment and notice issued in form No. VII, contending that the order of assessment was passed beyond the statutory period of limitation as provided under section 11, sub-section (2)(a) of the Act, 1941. The notice in form VII was received after more than a year, which did not comply with the statutory period of 30 days as per rule 55 of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941. The petitioner argued that the impugned order of assessment and the notice were liable to be quashed due to being barred by limitation.

2. Identical Issues in Two Applications:
The court noted that another application, RN-145 of 2002, presented the same legal issues as the present application, with the only difference being the period of assessment. The assessment order in RN-145 of 2002 was also signed on the same date as in the present case, and the payment was directed to be made after 547 days. The court decided that the order passed in the present application would also govern the application RN-145 of 2002.

3. Presumption of Non-Compliance with Statutory Period of Limitation:
The learned lawyer for the petitioner argued that since the demand notice was served after a significant delay without any explanation, it should be presumed that the impugned order was passed beyond the statutory period of limitation. Citing legal precedents, the lawyer relied on cases where delays in serving assessment orders led to the presumption of non-compliance with the statutory period. The court, based on these principles, held that the impugned order of assessment and the notice issued in form VII should be quashed.

4. Application of Legal Precedents:
The court referred to legal judgments where delays in serving assessment orders were considered as violations of the statutory period of limitation. By analyzing cases like State of Andhra Pradesh v. Khetmal Parekh and Maftlal Industries Ltd. v. C.T.O., the court established a precedent that delays in serving assessment orders without valid explanations could lead to the quashing of the impugned orders. The court applied these principles to the present case and decided in favor of the petitioner.

5. Final Decision:
Based on the arguments presented and the legal precedents cited, the court quashed the impugned order of reassessment and the notice issued in form VII in both the present application and RN-145 of 2002. The court allowed both applications without any order as to costs, thereby providing relief to the petitioner in challenging the orders based on exceeding the statutory period of limitation and non-compliance with the relevant rules.