TMI Blog1956 (4) TMI 44X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s account books, was accepted by the assessing authorities, and on 11th March, 1954, the respondent was assessed to tax on a turnover of Rs. 18,651-13-9. That assessment was confirmed by the Commercial Tax Officer on appeal. But on further appeal by the assessee the Tribunal held that the assessment fell within the scope of rule 17(1) of the Madras General Sales Tax Rules, and that the assessment made on 11th March, 1954, was barred by the period of limitation prescribed by the rule. The view of the Tribunal was that the turnover of the assessee had escaped assessment and that the period of two years prescribed by the rule before it was amended applied to the respondent. It was the correctness of that decision that the Government challenged ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ehalf or if the return submitted by him appears to the assessing authority to be incorrect or incomplete, the assessing authority shall assess the dealer to the best of his judgment." "Prescribed" is defined by section 2(f) of the Act to mean "pre- scribed by the rules made under the Act." Under section 19 the State Government is empowered to make rules to carry out the purposes of the Act; and among those particularly set out in this section is the provision in section 19(2)(f), which reads: "Such rules may provide for the assessment to tax under this Act of any turnover which has escaped assessment, and the period within which such assessment may be made, not exceeding three years." Turning to the rules, rule 6 of the Turnover and Asses ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... year submit to the assessing authority of the area in which his principal place of business is situated a return in Form A showing the actual gross and net turnover of the preceding year and the amounts by way of tax or taxes actually collected during that year: Every dealer not liable to submit a return under rule 6, who has a net turnover of not less than Rs. 10,000, in any year, shall unless he has elected to be assessed by the method described in rule 13 sub- mit to the assessing authority of the area in which his principal place of business is situated a return in Form A showing the actual gross and net turnover for that year and the amount by way of tax or taxes actually collected during the year on or before the 1st day of May of th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rms: "17. (1) If for any reason the whole or any part of the turnover of business of a dealer or licensee has escaped assessment to the tax in any year or if the licence fee has escaped levy in any year, the asses- sing authority or licensing authority, as the case may be, subject to the provisions in sub-rule (1A) may, at any time within two years next succeeding that to which the tax or licence fee relates, determine to the best of his judgment the turnover which has escaped assessment and assess the tax payable on such turnover or levy the licence fee, after issuing a notice to the dealer or licensee and after making such enquiry as he considers necessary." The respondent's was not a case which came within the scope of rule 6(1) of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ve contravened the provisions of section 9(1). Further the powers vested in the assessing authority under section 9(2)(b) would have been attracted and would have empowered that authority to make the assessment to the best of his judgment. That, however, was not done in the present case. On the other hand, what the assessee did was to submit his return, though beyond the period prescribed by section 9(1). That was certainly a valid return in the sense that there was no legal bar to its acceptance by the assessing authority in the exercise of his discretion, though it was filed beyond the period prescribed by rules under section 9(1); and as we have stated before, as no period of limitation is prescribed by the Act for completing an assessme ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y or even impliedly, the assessing authority had the jurisdiction to accept it as the basis of assessment after verifying the correctness of the return. That would be a case of an original assessment and not an assessment of an escaped turnover within the meaning of rule 17(1). If rule 17(1) did not apply, obviously the period of limitation prescribed by that rule would not apply either. The position where no return is submitted at all would be different. Failure to submit a return would be a violation of the statutory obligation imposed on the dealer. That, in our opinion, would fall within one or more of the categories of "inadvertence, omission or deliberate concealment" to which we have referred above. A return voluntarily submitted b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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