2016 (7) TMI 1407 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Revision of assessment - Section 27 of the TNVAT Act - penultimate order - case of the petitioner is that they were not put on notice that documents viz., purchase bills have to be produced to be entitled for relief. Therefore, the petitioner takes leave of this Court to grant them one more opportunity to place all the materials before the Assessing Officer. Held that - this Court is inclined to grant one more opportunity to the petitioner subject to certain conditions - the petitioner is directed to pay 15% of the disputed tax within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If the petitioner complies with the condition, then, along with the payment, the petitioner is entitled to submit his objections by treating the impugned proceedings as a SCN - On receipt of the objections, the respondent shall afford an opportunity of personal hearing to the petitioner and redo the assessment in accordance with law, after considering all issues pointed out by the petitioner - petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to assessment order for the year 2009-2010 under TNVAT Act, 2006.

Analysis:
The petitioner, a registered dealer under TNVAT Act, challenged the assessment order for 2009-2010 following a surprise inspection by Enforcement Wing Officials in 2010. The respondent proposed to revise the assessment and re-determine the total taxable turnover, along with levying a penalty. The petitioner submitted objections, leading to the impugned order. The respondent noted the petitioner's turnover exceeded ?50 lakhs in 2008-2009, and revised returns were filed post-inspection without producing purchase bills, resulting in non-consideration of Input Tax Credit (ITC). The issue arose whether the 2010 return was a revised one, considering the statutory filing obligations. The court left this issue open for further adjudication.

The petitioner contended not being notified about the necessity of producing purchase bills for relief entitlement. Requesting another opportunity to present all materials, the court granted the petitioner one more chance under certain conditions. The petitioner was directed to pay 15% of the disputed tax within four weeks. Compliance would allow submission of objections treating the proceedings as a show cause notice. The respondent would then provide a personal hearing and redo the assessment after considering all petitioner's points. Failure to meet the condition would nullify the order's benefits, enabling the respondent to proceed further in accordance with the law.

In conclusion, the Writ Petition was disposed of with the mentioned directions, without imposing any costs. Connected Miscellaneous Petitions were closed accordingly.