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TMI Blog2018 (11) TMI 1438X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ee years as the provision stood from 2009 onwards. There was absolutely no reason why the Officer did not finalise the proceedings on the basis of the materials recovered without waiting for the assessee to produce the books for almost five years. Even now the Officer has finalised the proceedings in 2016 without any books of accounts being produced by the assessee. The mere non-cooperation of the assessee did not at all hamper the Department from finalising the proceedings, since they could have deemed the non-co-operation to be a cause for assuming that there is no maintenance of proper books of accounts. The repeated summons a mere ruse to save limitation. The proceedings were initiated and the first summons issued when there was a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ench judgment in W.A.No.385/2009 dated 18.02.2009 [M/s Acme Furniture and Interiors v. CTO]; which held the commencement to be on detection of offence. We noticed the observation in W.A.No. 385/2009 that there is no time provided for detection of offence, which we held should be within a proximate period from the date of inspection and any delay caused will have to be satisfactorily explained; except in cases where the proceedings are finalised within the period of limitation or a reasonable period from the date of inspection itself. On these broad principles laid down by us, as also the other Division Bench decision, we proceed to consider the question of limitation as urged in these writ petitions. 2. The facts in the above case in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etection of offence. In such circumstances, it was also held that detection of offence should be within a reasonable time from the date of inspection or the date of verification of books of accounts. 6. We do not 5. We have also held in W.A.No.344/2017 that the issue of summons for production of books of accounts and the notice proposing penalty; a sure sign of detection of offence, should be within a reasonable time, proximate from the date of inspection or examination of books of accounts; if the final order passed is after a long period viz: after the normal period of limitation provided or a reasonable period as understood from the nature of the statute. Repeated summons for production of this or that book would not absolve the D ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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