2018 (7) TMI 1354 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Validity of recovery notice - proceedings on dead person - recovery of arrears of tax payable pursuant to the assessment order dated 30.1.198 - TNGST Act - Held that - The dealer, in the said writ petition, contended that he did only labour works for building body of lorries and that the same could not be stated to be a manufacturing process nor there was an element of sale involved. Thus, without adjudicating the said issue, the second respondent cannot proceed to recover the amount, that too, by issuing a notice against a dead person - the impugned notice is held to be not sustainable in law - petition allowed.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to recovery notice based on assessment order dated 30.1.1989 under Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959. Validity of recovery notice against a deceased person. Adjudication of grounds raised in a previous writ petition.

Analysis:
The petitioner contested a recovery notice issued by the second respondent demanding arrears of tax based on an assessment order from 1989. The dealer, who was the husband of the petitioner, passed away in 2006, making it impossible to proceed against a deceased individual. It was revealed that the deceased dealer had previously challenged the assessment order and demand notice in a writ petition, but the case was dismissed due to non-prosecution after the death of the counsel and the petitioner. The grounds raised in the earlier writ petition were never addressed, specifically regarding the nature of the dealer's work and the absence of a manufacturing or sale element. Consequently, the court held that the recovery notice against a deceased person was not legally sustainable due to the unresolved issues from the previous writ petition.

The court allowed the writ petition, quashing the impugned order. However, it granted the second respondent the option to proceed lawfully if deemed necessary. No costs were awarded, and the related Writ Miscellaneous Petitions were closed as a result of the judgment.