9911796707
TMI Blog1991 (7) TMI 336X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, has challenged the initiation of certificate cases bearing Nos. 37 CT/ 87-88, 40 CT/87-88 and 41 CT/87-88 started against him on the ground that he did not receive any demand notice or any order of assessment prior to initiation of these three certificate proceedings. The case of the applicant is that the applicant received on January 20, 1991, a notice for warrant of arrest dated January 16, 1991, from the respondent No. 2, the Certificate Officer, Howrah. On perusal of that notice, the applicant came to know about initiation of the aforesaid three certificate proceedings against him. He made an enquiry in the matter and came to learn that assessments for the periods from June 12, 1980 to December 31, 1980, fo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt under Memo No. 36662 dated December 30, 1985 and 1847 dated November 20, 1986, respectively. The respondents have also filed the photo copy of an acknowledgement relating to the demand notice for the four quarters ending on December 31, 1982 and have alleged that this notice was received by the applicant on November 27, 1986. In the affidavit-in-reply filed for the applicant, the receipt of the notice for the four quarters ending on December 31, 1982, on November 27, 1986, is denied by the applicant. The applicant alleges that one Mr. B. Kumar Singh, whose signature appears on the acknowledgement card, was not known to the applicant and was not an employee of the applicant. In the affidavit-in-reply the applicant has again stated that n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... he applicant is able to establish non-service of demand notice on him in form VII of the Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1941, the initiation of the certificate proceedings against him will be without jurisdiction. In these circumstances, as the jurisdiction of the Certificate Officer, Howrah, to initiate the certificate proceedings is itself a question to be determined in the present case, the present application cannot be stated to be barred and not maintainable on the basis of the provision in section 8(3)(b) of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987. Mr. De, the learned State Representative, has next shown us the copy of the notice in form VII sent to the applicant at premises No. 521, G.T. Road (South), Howrah, for assessment for the per ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... letter dated April 29, 1991, was sent to the respondent No. 1, for sending to the applicant copies of the notices in form VII. After hearing Mr. De and the learned advocate for the applicant in the matter, we are unable to accept the contention of Mr. De that the notices in form VII were properly served on the applicant. There is no acknowledgement card in respect of the notices in form VII relating to the period of assessment from June 12, 1980 to December 31, 1980, and for the four quarters ending on December 31, 1981. For the period of four quarters ending on December 31, 1982, the respondents have no doubt filed a xerox copy of an acknowledgement card which shows receipt of the notice in question by one B. Kumar Singh on November 25, 19 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... umber of the cases mentioned in the letter dated April 29, 1991, sent by the applicant to the respondent No. 1, it is to be stated that Mr. Chakraborty, the learned advocate for the applicant, has contended that the number of the cases was given by the applicant on the basis of the numbers mentioned in the notice sent by the concerned Commercial Tax Officer to the applicant in form No. VI before making the assessment. He has further stated that after receipt of the notice for issue of warrant of arrest dated January 16, 1991, the applicant made enquiries, as averred in paragraph 8 of the main application and that as a result of such enquiry the applicant came to know the numbers of the assessment cases. When it is not possible to brush asid ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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