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2022 (8) TMI 78 - HC - VAT and Sales TaxInitiation of re-assessment proceedings/revision - Jurisdiction - information received from a third party dealer could be relied upon for purposes of re-assesment under Section 21 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act even when the copies of the information received had neither been supplied nor opportunity of cross examination afforded in spite of specific requests being made to the assessing authority by the applicant or not - relevant material on record or not,to believe that any part of the turnover had escaped assessment of tax - Whether the Tribunal was justified in upholding the remand of the case to the assessing authority, without dealing with the issue of validity of initiation of re-assessment proceedings, when the said issue was specifically raised by the applicant and the appellate authority failed to address the same? HELD THAT:- There can be no doubt that that the ground raised in the context of re-assessment proceedings goes to the root of the matter. Unless jurisdiction is shown to exist on the date of initiation of re-assessment proceedings, the entire edifice of the assessment that arises in such re-assessment proceedings may never be sustained. It is equally true, for such issue to be decided, an objection must be raised at the initial stage itself. Here the assessee is quite right in submitting that such objection was raised before the assessing authority itself as is clear from the written objection filed by the assessee before the assessing authority and the recital made in the assessment order dated 30.3.2011. In the present case, the appeal authority has reached a firm conclusion that the assessee was not confronted with the adverse material and was not given any opportunity to cross examine the third party from whom Central Excise authorities may have seized certain documents. Thereafter, the appeal authority has remitted the matter to the assessing authority to pass fresh order after giving such opportunity to the assessee. Thus, the matter has been made pending before the original authority - It also cannot be denied that the assessee had raised objection before the assessing authority and the assessing authority had not considered the same. The only error that appears to have crept in the order of the appeal authority as has been confirmed by the Tribunal is not to have made specific observation to compel the assessing authority to deal with the objection as to jurisdiction - Once the matter is engaging the attention of the original authority, it is advisable that the assessee may raise a preliminary issue of lack of jurisdiction as well. Only if the authority is satisfied as to existence of its jurisdiction, it may proceed to give effect to the directions issued by the first appeal authority as confirmed by the Tribunal. Revision disposed off.
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