2009 (2) TMI 746

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..... writ petition challenging the order passed by the first respondent holding the petitioner ineligible for applying for a one-time settlement under Ordinance of the year 2008. Heard Mr. R. Senniappan, learned counsel for the petitioner. Mr. R. Mahadevan, learned Government Advocate (Taxes) takes notice for the respondents. Since the issue raised in the writ petition lies in a narrow compass and al .....

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..... on a suo motu revision, by the Joint Commissioner, the assessment officer raised a demand dated April 1, 2002, confirming the original assessment. Subsequently, the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax (Settlement of Arrears) Ordinance, 2008 was promulgated, providing for settlement of arrears of tax, penalty and interest. Section 4 of the said Ordinance enables a person to make an application for settle .....

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..... rest, in respect of which, assessment has been made prior to April 1, 2002 and that it is not available to those made on or after April 1, 2002. Aggrieved by such a hyper-technical objection, the petitioner has come up with the present writ petition. At the outset, the impugned order suffers from an incorrect interpretation to section 4. Section 4 extracted above makes it clear that the benefit o .....

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..... ng the original assessment made in 1994 and hence, it cannot be treated as an assessment made after April 1, 2002.   Moreover, the Principal Secretary/Commissioner of Commercial Taxes appears to have issued a letter of clarification bearing No. DC 1/23465/08 dated January 23, 2009, on certain issues. Query No. 5 and the reply furnished by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes read as follows: .....

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..... ustainable. Accordingly this writ petition is allowed. The impugned order is set aside. The first respondent is directed to receive the application of the petitioner under section 4 of the Ordinance. It is open to the first respondent to examine the same on its own merits and pass appropriate orders. No costs. Consequently, connected M.P. Nos. 1 and 2 of 2009 are closed.  
Case laws, De .....

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