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TMI Blog1977 (12) TMI 125X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... was correct in law in holding that the Sales Tax Officer (VIII), Enforcement Branch, Bombay, could not initiate the proceedings under that section on the ground that the original assessment under section 14 of the said Act was passed by the Sales Tax Officer, C Ward, Bombay?" The brief facts necessary for deciding these references are that the respondents were registered as a dealer under the said Act. Their assessments for the period 1st April, 1955, to 31st March, 1956, and 1st April, 1956, to 31st March, 1957, were made by the Sales Tax Officer, C Ward, Bombay. In the respondents' income-tax proceedings certain books were seized by the Income-tax Officer. On receipt of this information, the Sales Tax Officer (VIII), Enforcement Branch, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ase of Messrs. Hansraj Vishram Ravani v. State of Maharashtra and in the case of Messrs. P. Ambalal and Co. The Tribunal shortly stated the effect of these two decisions thus: "In short it appears the Sales Tax Officer, Enforcement Branch, had initiated reassessment proceedings under section 15 (of the Bombay Sales Tax Act, 1953) without having the proceedings duly transferred to his file, and in doing so he had made best judgment assessment under section 15 of the Act. Both these questions are now in issue, and since the Tribunal has given its decision on these points, the orders of the Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax will have to be set aside." It is against this judgment of the Tribunal that these two references have been made at th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sioner of Sales Tax v. P. Ambalal and Co.[1976] 38 S.T.C. 333., in which we held that it was competent to an officer exercising powers of reassessment under section 15 of the said Act to make a best judgment assessment. Accordingly, question No. (1) will have to be answered in the negative. So far as the second question is concerned, Mr. Sanghavi, learned counsel for the applicant, has submitted that this question lies within a very narrow compass and that this question is confined only to the point that reassessment can only be done by the officer who makes the original assessment. This clearly appears to be the case on a plain reading of the question as framed, and Mr. Joshi, learned counsel for the respondents, conceded this. It is not ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tions submitted to us would make no difference to the ultimate result of the revision applications filed by the respondents before the Tribunal and, therefore, in a manner of speaking, since the judgment of the Tribunal that the Sales Tax Officer (VIII), Enforcement Branch, could not initiate reassessment proceedings under section 15 of the said Act, without having the proceedings duly transferred to his file, remains binding for the purposes of these revision applications, in a sense it may well be said that the questions referred to us in these references are insufficient to dispose of the case completely, but this is the way which the applicant himself has chosen to adopt, and we cannot help it. For the reasons set out above, we answer ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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