2015 (4) TMI 860 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Suppression of production - Imposition of penalty - Data taken from departmental website - Held that - When the respondent has referred to certain documents which has been taken from the departmental website, it is the duty of the respondents to furnish the same to the petitioner and call for an explanation and thereafter pass the final order. Since the same has not been given in this case, I have no other option except to quash the impugned order. - Decided in favour of assessee.

Summary

Issues:
Challenging assessment orders under Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 for alleged purchase suppression leading to penalty imposition.

Analysis:
The petitioner filed writ petitions seeking to quash assessment orders made by the respondent for alleged purchase suppression during the years 2012-13 and 2013-14. The department imposed penalties after finding defects in the annual returns of the petitioner. The petitioner objected, stating the furnished turnover details were correct and requested cancellation of the notices. However, the authority passed an order confirming the proposal due to lack of documentary evidence from the petitioner.

The Court noted that the respondent referred to certain documents from the departmental website without furnishing them to the petitioner for explanation. It was emphasized that the respondents should provide the documents to the petitioner, seek an explanation, and then pass a final order. Since this procedure was not followed in this case, the Court decided to quash the impugned order.

Consequently, the impugned order was quashed, allowing the authority to provide details to the petitioner, seek objections, afford a reasonable opportunity for a personal hearing, and then pass appropriate orders based on merits and in accordance with the law if required. The writ petitions were disposed of with no costs, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed.