2017 (9) TMI 438 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Jurisdiction - whether the first respondent being an Enforcement Wing Officer has no jurisdiction to call upon the petitioner to file objections or to produce books of account or to attend the personal hearing and the manner in which the notices have been issued and its tenor will clearly establish that the petitioner has been threatened and coerced to submit to the jurisdiction of the first respondent? - Held that - the first respondent being an Enforcement Wing official cannot usurp the powers of the assessing officer. All that can be done is to prepare a report based on the inspection conducted in the place of business of the petitioner and it can at best give cause of action for issuing a revision notice and upon issuance of the revision notice by the assessing officer and inviting objections from the dealer the assessing officer has to independently consider the objections and take a decision in the matter uninfluenced by any observations made by the Enforcement Wing official in the D3 proposal. Thus the notices issued by the first respondent cannot be enforced - the notices issued by the first respondent dated 26.09.2016 are held to be non-est in the eye of law - petition allowed - decided partly in favor of petitioner.

Summary

Issues: Jurisdiction of Enforcement Wing Officer to issue notices for objections and re-assessment under TNVAT Act, 2006.

Analysis:
The petitioner, a registered dealer under the TNVAT Act, challenged notices issued by the Assistant Commissioner of the Enforcement Wing and the assessing officer. The petitioner objected to the Enforcement Wing Officer's jurisdiction to call for objections, produce books of account, and conduct personal hearings. The petitioner contended that the assessing officer should independently consider objections without influence from the Enforcement Wing. The petitioner relied on previous court decisions to support this argument.

The High Court noted that the Enforcement Wing official cannot assume the powers of the assessing officer. The Enforcement Wing's role is limited to preparing reports based on inspections, which may lead to revision notices by the assessing officer. The assessing officer must consider objections independently and make decisions without being influenced by the Enforcement Wing's observations. Consequently, the notices issued by the Enforcement Wing Officer were deemed unenforceable.

As a result, the writ petitions were partly allowed. The notices issued by the Enforcement Wing Officer were declared invalid, and the petitioner was directed to submit objections to the assessing officer within fifteen days. The assessing officer was instructed to provide a personal hearing to the petitioner and complete the assessment in compliance with the law. No costs were awarded, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.