2018 (3) TMI 1105 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Principles of natural justice - validity of assessment order - Held that - Demand Notice being on the ground of violation of principles of natural justice and not having been examined against that touchstone in writ petition, it appears just and expedient that such issues be examined at the first instance whether the subject Assessment Order and Demand Notice could be assailed on such grounds in the writ petition - the writ petitions are restored for consideration by the learned Single Judge in accordance with law.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to assessment order under KET Act for assessment years 2012-13 and 2013-14, dismissal of writ petitions due to non-compliance with deposit condition, deposit of tax part of total demand, violation of principles of natural justice, restoration of writ petitions for consideration.

Analysis:

1. The appellant challenged the assessment order dated 4.4.2017 under Section 6-A(3) of the KET Act for the assessment years 2012-13 and 2013-14, along with the consequential Demand Notice dated 4.4.2017. The writ petitions filed by the appellant were dismissed by the impugned order dated 22.9.2017.

2. The dismissal of the writ petitions was primarily due to the appellant's failure to comply with the condition of depositing the tax part of the total demand within the time allowed as per the interim order dated 7.7.2017. The appellant contended that they could not comply within the stipulated time due to genuine reasons and sought examination of the challenge to the assessment order and demand notice on the grounds of violation of natural justice.

3. Subsequently, the appellant deposited the tax part of the total demand on 12.3.2018 and requested permission to challenge the assessment order and demand notice, claiming compliance with the interim order. The court acknowledged the deposit and allowed the appellant to pursue their challenge based on the violation of principles of natural justice.

4. The impugned order noted that the writ petitions were dismissed due to non-compliance with the deposit condition but allowed the appellant to file an appeal under Section 8-B of the KET Act within two weeks. The court directed that the appeal should be entertained without objections on limitation if the appellant fulfills the necessary conditions for filing the appeal.

5. Despite the delayed deposit of the entire tax part of the total demand, the court found it appropriate to examine the issues raised by the appellant regarding the violation of natural justice in the assessment order and demand notice. Consequently, the impugned order dated 22.9.2017 was set aside, and the writ petitions were restored for consideration by the learned Single Judge in accordance with the law.

6. The court directed the office to restore the writ petitions to their numbers for consideration by the Single Judge and scheduled a hearing for the parties to appear before the Single Judge on 23.04.2018. It was emphasized that the court had not made any pronouncements on the merits of the issues involved, leaving all relevant aspects open for examination in accordance with the law.

7. Finally, the appeals were disposed of with no costs imposed, signifying the restoration of the writ petitions for further legal proceedings and examination of the issues raised by the appellant regarding the assessment order and demand notice in light of the principles of natural justice.