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TMI Blog1955 (7) TMI 19X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e return submitted for April and May, 1951. He did not make any provisional assessment month after month separately. Instead, on 31st March, 1953, he made a final assessment for the whole year on a turnover of Rs. 6,56,073-0-8 of which Rs. 2,00,000 was an addition made by him on the basis of suppression of turnover in the returns for the months of April and May, 1951. The assessees questioned the valid- ity of that order by preferring an appeal to the Commercial Tax Officer. But the appeal was dismissed. An appeal preferred against that order to the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal was also rejected. In the revision, the assessees question the validity of the assessment on the ground that the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer had no power to assess ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shall assess the dealer to the best of his judgment." Section 3 is the charging and taxing section. Section 9 pres- cribes the procedure to be followed by the assessing authority. Both the sections provide for the making of statutory rules prescribing the manner of determining the turnover and the mode of assessing, levying and collecting the tax. Rules 7 to 12 provide for yearly assessment on an estimate and for the collection of tax in monthly instalments, subject to re-adjust- ment at a later stage. But another set of rules provide for an alter- native method of assessment. Under rule 13, in lieu of the method of assessment prescribed in rules 7 to 12, the method prescribed in sub- rules (2) to (6) of rule 13 may be adopted in the cas ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ended that sub- rule (5) applies only to a case where a provisional assessment has been made under sub-rule (3) and, as no such provisional monthly assess- ment was made in the present case, the yearly assessment made under that rule is bad. If the argument of the learned counsel be accepted, every yearly assessment made even on the basis of the monthly returns would be void unless provisional assessments were made for every month. If the rules bear out that construction, he should succeed but we do not think that that was the intention of the rule-making authority. A combined reading of the provisions of sub-rules (3), (4) and (5) disclose that the scheme of assessment is logical and self-contained. They are intended to provide for a machi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ot specifically mentioned, in the context the provisional assessment referred to in that rule is provisional assessment made under sub-rules (3) and (4), for we have already pointed out that the assessment under sub- rule (3) is subject to the provisions of sub-rule (4). If so, under sub- rule (5), a final assessment can be made on the basis of the monthly returns. It is then said that the word "after" in sub-rule (5) indicates that provisional assessment is a condition precedent for the making of the final assessment under sub-rule (5). It is true that ordinarily it is expected a monthly assessment would be made. But the jurisdiction to make an yearly assessment does not depend upon the existence of monthly assessments though the basis o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ember, we fail to see any- thing in the rules to prevent the assessing authority from taking up for assessment all the monthly returns submitted in Form A-3 up to the point of assessment; still the basis of assessment is only the monthly return." Later on, the learned Judges proceeded to state: "Merely because the assessing authority took up for assessment the returns for all the months at the same time, that did not alter the basis of the assessment, which was still the monthly return submitted by the assessee. We agree with the aforesaid observations. Learned counsel then contended that a statute which imposes a duty, must be strictly construed and so construed, sub-rule (5) does not enable the making of a final assessment in the absenc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ction (1) of section by prescribes the making of a return a condition precedent for the assessment. Dealing with that contention, the learned judge observed at page 242: "The return in fact is only intended to facilitate assessment and cannot be described as an indispensable prerequisite of it." The learned judge went further and observed: "But even if the Act and the rules thereunder were less explicit, I think that, the liability to duty being clear, it would be improper to conclude that no means exist of realising it unless the language of the Act compelled such a view." As we have already stated, section 3 of the General Sales Tax Act is the charging section and section 9 prescribes the procedure for collec- tion. Sub-rules (3) and (4 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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