STATE OF ANDHRA PRADESH Vs. SEVAK AUTOMOBILES GOWLIGUDA HYDERABAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in these cases is the State of Andhra Pradesh and the respondent is an assessee under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act. The respondent is a dealer in motor spare-parts, etc. The respondent firm was assessed to sales-tax on a turnover of Rs. 84,740-12-9. Subsequently, the special staff seized some account books from the respondent-firm and revised the assessment by including an escaped turnover of Rs. 66,000 disclosed from the books seized. The appeal by the respondent-firm to the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes was dismissed, but a further appeal to the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad, was allowed. The Appellate Tribunal held that the Special Commercial Tax Officer, who revised the assessment, has no jurisdiction to do so.

(2.) Hence the State of Andhra Pradesh has filed this Tax Revision Case. The short question for decision is whether under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, and the rules and the notifications thereunder, the Special Commercial Tax Officer had jurisdiction to revise the assessment already made by the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer on the ground that certain turnover had escaped assessment. The power to assess tax on turnover which had escaped assessment is conferred by section 14, clause (4) of the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, which is as follows :- Where, for any reason, the whole or any part of the turnover of business of a dealer has escaped assessment to tax, or has been under-assessed or assessed at too low a rate, or where the licence fee or registration fee has escaped levy or has been levied at too low a rate, the assessing authority may, at any time, within a period of four years from the expiry of the year to which the tax or the licence fee or registration fee relates, assess the tax payable on the turnover which has escaped assessment or levy the correct amount of licence fee or registration fee after issuing a notice to the dealer and after making such inquiry as he considers necessary. Such authority may also direct the dealer to pay in addition to the tax so assessed, a penalty not exceeding one and half times the amount of that tax, if the turnover had escaped assessment or had been under-assessed or assessed at too low a rate by reason of its not being disclosed by the dealer Under this clause, it is the assessing authority that may assess the tax payable on the turnover which has escaped assessment. Section 2, clause (1) (b) defines ' assessing authority ' as " any person authorised by the State Government or by any other authority empowered by them in this behalf, to make any assessment under this Act."

(3.) By virtue of the power conferred by this section 2 (1) (b), the Government issued a Notification, G.O. Ms. No. 1091, Revenue, dated 10th June, 1957. The further Proviso No. 3 to clause II of this Notification is as follows :-