- (1.)THIS is an application under Section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987 for quashing the order dated August 19,1991 passed by respondent No. 3.
(2.)IT is the case of the petitioner that the assessment for the four quarters ending May 31, 1981 was made by the Commercial Tax Officer and the order was passed on April 22, 1985. The petitioner appealed against the order on April 18, 1986. So a direction was given by the learned Assistant Commissioner upon the learned Commercial Tax Officer to hold fresh assessment by an order dated August 20, 1987. The learned Commercial Tax Officer accordingly, passed an ex parte order of assessment on August 19, 1991 but copy of the order and the demand notice were not served upon the petitioner till October 21, 1994. On September 13, 1994 the petitioner received the first letter from the Commercial Tax Officer asking it to clear the dues. The petitioner, thereafter, made a request for serving a demand notice and the order of assessment, if any, which were received by him on October 21, 1994.
(3.)AN appeal was preferred agitating the question of limitation but it was not taken into consideration by the appellate authority and the revisional authority, though the ex parte assessment was barred by limitation.
Relying on the decision reported in State of Andhra Pradesh v. M. Ramakishtaiah and Co. [1994] 93 STC 406 (SC) the learned lawyer for the petitioner submits that there was inordinate delay in serving the copy of the ex parte reassessment order and the demand notice. No explanation for such delay was given. Therefore, the ex parte order of reassessment may be presumed to be barred by limitation. The demand notice and copy of the order should have been served by the respondents within reasonable time otherwise the presumption would be that the order was back -dated to save the limitation.