2023 (8) TMI 1229 - HC - VAT and Sales Tax

Validity of notices issued - specific case of the petitioner is that the petitioner is a service provider and has obtained service tax registration from Sales Tax Department under the Finance Act, 1994, as early as in the year 2005 - HELD THAT - The respondent /Assessing officer in his reply to the petitioner's representation, vide letter bearing Ref.No.1135/2017/A4, dated 15.03.2018, has stated that the copy of the order has not been received by the Commercial Tax Officer, (Enforcement wing) Group III, Coimbatore and the Enforcement Division of Coimbatore also has not received the copy of the order. Although the respondent /jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner, has stated that the order of this Court was not received vide communication dated 15.03.2018, the fact remains that the Enforcement Wing had sent summons to the petitioner on 31.01.2018. Thus, there is no truth in the aforesaid communication. The impugned orders have been passed, based on the notices dated 02.06.2016, which have already been quashed by this court while passing the aforesaid order dated 07.10.2016 in W.P.No.35694 to 35702 of 2016. Therefore, the impugned orders are liable to be quashed. The impugned orders are quashed and the case is remitted back to the Commercial Tax Officer (Enforcement wing) Group III, Coimbatore to pass a speaking order on the petitioner's representation - Petition allowed by way of remand.

Summary

Issues involved:
The judgment involves challenges to nine assessment orders for various assessment years, related to notices issued under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006.

Details of the Judgment:
In the writ petitions, the petitioner contested nine assessment orders dated 28.02.2020 for the years 2007-08 to 2015-16. The petitioner, a service provider, had previously challenged notices issued under the TNVAT Act in 2016. The petitioner maintained that they had been remitting service tax under the Finance Act, 1994, for renting immovable property. Following a court order directing the Commercial Tax Officer to consider the petitioner's objections, the Enforcement Wing issued summons in 2018. The petitioner argued that the court's directive had not been followed, and thus, no further proceedings should be initiated.

The respondent Assessing Officer claimed that they had not received the court order, but the Enforcement Wing had sent summons to the petitioner. The petitioner contended that the assessment orders were passed in violation of the court order from 2016, which had quashed the earlier notices. Consequently, the petitioner sought to have the impugned orders quashed.

The court, in light of the above, quashed the impugned orders and remitted the case back to the Commercial Tax Officer to pass a speaking order on the petitioner's representation, as previously ordered. The Officer was directed to consider the objections and provide a hearing to the petitioner within eight weeks. It was also clarified that any future notices under the TNVAT Act should be considered timely, given the petitioner's longstanding engagement with the court since 2016. The writ petitions were disposed of with no costs, and connected Miscellaneous Petitions were closed accordingly.