9911796707
TMI Blog1981 (1) TMI 231X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e purpose of understanding the form of the prayer in which the relief is asked for it is necessary to set out certain facts. The appellant herein is an assessee under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, and he has been assessed to sales tax for the year 1970-71 by the assessment order dated 3rd January, 1972. Subsequent to this date certain enquiries were made on the basis of information received by the department that the appellant herein had been carrying on certain business under benami names. After recording statements from others as well as from the appellant himself on 26th March, 1976, the respondent issued a notice dated 30th March, 1976, calling upon the appellant to appear in person on 19th April, 1976, when he would be given an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... shall be excluded." Based upon these two statutory provisions, two arguments were advanced before us. The first argument is that the expression "determine to the best of its judgment" occurring in section 16(1)(a) contemplates the passing of a final order of assessment of escaped turnover and not merely giving a notice like the notice dated 30th March, 1976, to which we have already drawn attention. The second argument is that, even assuming that section 16(1)(a) does not contemplate a completed order of assessment within the period of five years referred to therein and that it merely contemplates the initiation of proceedings for reassessment, such an initiation has not been done in this case, because the notice dated 30th March, 1976, ca ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing three years. We find it difficult to accept that in the context of sales tax legislation the use of the words 'proceed to assess' and 'determine' would lead to different consequences or results. In this connection the words which follow the word 'determine' in rule 33 must be accorded their due signification. The words 'assess the tax payable' cannot be ignored and it is clearly meant that the assessment has to be made within the period prescribed. Assessment is a comprehensive word and can denote the entirety of proceedings which are taken with regard to it. It cannot and does not mean a final order of assessment alone unless there is something in the context of a particular provision which compels such a meaning being attributed to it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ned counsel himself admits that a Bench of this Court in W.P. Nos. 3939 to 3941 of 1971 (Anglo French Textiles Limited, Pondicherry v. State of Tamil Nadu) decided on 14th March, 1972, had considered this decision of the Supreme Court as well as section 16(4) of the Act and held that the provision in section 16(4) did not in any way restrict or limit the scope of the power under section 16(1)(a) of the Act and further pointed out that under the scheme of the Act, wherever the legislature intended that the final order should be passed within a particular period, it was specifically provided so. Having regard to this position, we reject the first contention of the learned counsel for the appellant. As far as the second contention is concerne ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... not produce before us the summons issued to the appellant asking him to appear on 26th March, 1976. Certainly the said summons would have referred to the assessment year 1970-71 and the investigation conducted for the purpose of assessing the escaped turnover. Hence we reject the first part of the above contention. The second part of the contention was that the notice must mention the actual turnover alleged to have escaped and sought to be assessed. We have already extracted section 16(1)(a) of the Act. Admittedly there is no form prescribed by the statute or the Rules in which the notice should be issued calling upon the assessee to show cause with reference to the proposed assessment of the escaped turnover. In such a context, we are un ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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