TMI Blog2006 (1) TMI 553X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to assessment period 1982-83. L.P.A. No. 1101 of 1996 arising out of C. W. J. C. No. 846 of 1986 relates to assessment period 1983-84. Apart from the difference in the periods of assessment, the two cases are identical on all issues of facts and law. These appeals were accordingly heard together and are being disposed of by this order. The relevant facts are brief and simple and can be stated thus: The appellant is the manufacturer and seller of implements which are used in agricultural operations for spraying insecticides and pesticides, etc. The sprayers manufactured and sold by the appellant are of various types, e.g. foot sprayers, knap-sack-sprayers and hand-compressor-sprayers, rocking sprayers, etc. According to the appellant durin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tural implements entitled to exemption from sales tax, notwithstanding the fact that those were not separately included in the notification. It appears that after filing the objections the appellant did not appear before the Deputy Commissioner on the date fixed in the proceeding and in that circumstance the Deputy Commissioner passed ex parte orders levying taxes on the sale of sprayers by the appellant at eight per cent. The two reassessment orders for the periods 1982-83 and 1983-84 were challenged by the appellant before this court in C. W. J. C. Nos. 847 and 846 of 1986 respectively. Before the writ court the appellant assailed the reassessment orders on two grounds ; one that the reassessment proceeding was wholly without jurisdicti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... before the writ court. Mr. Agrawal submitted before us that a mere reference to the exemption notification in the reassessment order could by no means satisfy the stringent pre-condition for initiation of a reassessment proceeding under section 19(1) of the Act since the prescribed authority was in any case supposed to know the notifications issued by the department and a mere reference to the notification cannot be construed as a fresh or new information coming into the possession of the prescribed authority. In support of his submission he relied upon the decisions in Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society [1979] 119 ITR 996 (SC) ; AIR 1979 SC 1960, and Bhimraj Madanlal v. State of Bihar [1984] 56 STC 273 (Patna)[FB] ; 1984 PLJR 584. We ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... that the prescribed authority came into possession of some information, are not legally sound. The reasoning adopted by the writ court appears to be in teeth of the observations made in the Supreme Court decision in Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society [1979] 119 ITR 996 ; AIR 1979 SC 1960. In paragraph 15 (at page 1005 of ITR) of the Supreme Court judgment it is observed and held as follows: 15. A further submission raised by the Revenue on section 147(b) of the Act may be considered at this stage. It is urged that the expression information in section 147(b) refers to the realisation by the Income-tax Officer that he has committed an error when making the original assessment. It is said that, when upon receipt of the audit note the I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ayers) during the assessment period. Not satisfied by the return filed by the appellant-assessee the prescribed authority decided to make an inspection of the assessee s unit and he actually made an inspection of the assessee s commercial premises. In course of enquiry he found that apart from the articles exempted from payment of sales tax the assessee also dealt in articles on the sale of which sales tax was leviable. But he found that for the period in question only such articles were sold that were exempted from payment of tax. He concluded the order by observing that on the basis of the enquiry made by him he was finally satisfied that the return filed by the assessee was correct and the assessee was not liable to pay any sales tax f ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... two assessment orders are liable to be struck down and the writ petitions filed by the petitioner are fit to be allowed on the simple ground that the impugned orders were passed without any independent application of mind by the prescribed authority. In this regard we may once again refer to the decision of the Supreme Court in Indian and Eastern Newspaper Society [1979] 119 ITR 996 ; AIR 1979 SC 1960, in para 13 of which it is stated as follows: 13. In the present case, an internal audit party of the Income-tax department expressed the view that the receipts from the occupation of the conference hall and rooms did not attract section 10 of the Act and that the assessment should have been made under section 9. While sections 9 and 1 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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