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TMI Blog1984 (8) TMI 297X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e said notice is reproduced below: "Registered with A/D. Government of West Bengal, Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Central Section, 14, Beliaghata Road, Calcutta-15. Memo No. 877. Dated: 26-3-84 To M/s. Kemco Chemicals, 18, R. N. Mukherjee Road, Calcutta-700 001. Sub: Notice under section 13(1) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1954. In terms of the provisions of section 13(1) of the W.B.S.T. Act, 1954, you are hereby directed to appear before the undersigned at his office on 4th May, 1984 at 11-30 a.m. and produce all books of accounts, records documents, bank statement and other relevant papers for the accounting year 1983-84. In case of your failure to comply with the notice, ex parte decision ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... suppression of sales, he directed the inspectors to make necessary inspections and enquiries at the business places of the petitioners. It is further stated that at 18, R.N. Mukherjee Road, and at 48B, Muktaram Babu Street (1st Floor), which are two out of three business places of the petitioner No. 1, the request to produce relevant books, documents and papers were complied with and as such request was not acceded to at 7A, Bentinck Street which is the other place of business of the petitioner-firm, the said premises were searched but no relevant document or paper was found. It is further averred in the counter-affidavit that all papers and documents were not made available to the inspectors at the other two business places and that impor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ith, as may be required by the prescribed authority. (1-A) All notified commodities kept in any place of business, factory or warehouse of any dealer or person shall at all reasonable time be open to inspection or search, if necessary by the prescribed authority. (2) The prescribed authority may, in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed, enter and search any place where he has reason to believe that the dealer keeps or is for the time being keeping any accounts, registers, vouchers or other documents referred to in clause (c) of sub-section (1) and if necessary, inspect, seize or retain them for so long as may be necessary for examination or for the purpose of any prosecution. (3) For removal of doubts it is hereby declared ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cribed authority. Sub-section (2) mentions accounts, registers, vouchers or other documents referred to in clause (c) of sub-section (1) and empowers the prescribed authority to inspect, seize or retain them if necessary for examination or for the purpose of prosecution. Sub-sections (2) to (4) deal with the powers of search, seizure and incidental powers of the prescribed authority. It has been argued on behalf of the petitioners that the powers sought to be exercised by the respondent No. 1 in the present case in analogous to the power conferred on the prescribed authority under section 9(2) of the 1954 Act in connection with assessment of sales tax after the filing of return about the language used in section 9(2) is different from the l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... [1978] 112 ITR 568; (4) State of West Bengal v. Oriental Rubber Works [1977] 39 STC 333 and (5) Oriental Rubber Works v. A.K. Sinha [1974] 34 STC 30. But these decisions are on statutes which are not in Pari materia with section 13(1) of the 1954 Act and so it is not necessary to discuss them. The Supreme Court in Barium Chemicals' case AIR 1972 SC 591 observed that there must be some nexus between the documents sought to be obtained and the purposes of the Act under which notice for production thereof is issued. This is a fundamental requirement of law, to prevent arbitrariness or unreasonableness in requiring production of documents or papers from an assessee or any other person, in purported exercise of power under the concerned Act. A ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ing is altered or not depends on whether the requirements of English language demand it or these requirement permit it and the sense of the section demands it (see Craies Statute Law, 7th edition, pp. 143-144). The language of clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 13 of the 1954 Act does not warrant the view that the dealer cannot be called upon to make available, that is to say, to produce or cause to be produced the documents required by the prescribed authority for the purposes of the Act at the office of the latter on a date fixed. There can be no doubt that the prescribed authority on getting secret information of suppression of sales by a dealer has power to make investigation to find out whether a dealer has evaded or is going t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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