9911796707
TMI Blog1974 (4) TMI 86X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... January, 1973, under rule 41(5) of the Sales Tax Rules, on a turnover of Rs. 41,00,000. The petitioner impugnes the validity of the two assessment orders, inter alia, on the following grounds: (1) The Sales Tax Officer had no reason to believe that any part of the petitioner's turnover had escaped assessment. He had therefore no jurisdiction to reopen its assessment for the year 1969-70 under section 21 of the Sales Tax Act. (2) The Sales Tax Officer erred in making best judgment assessment for both the years, after rejecting the account books of the petitioner, and (3) The Sales Tax Officer determined the petitioner's turnovers at Rs. 35,00,000 and Rs. 41,00,000 arbitrarily and without any basis. Originally by an order dated 20th May, ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... formation conveyed by the Sales Tax Officer, S.I.B., which he had gathered as a result of search made by him on 25th July, 1970. This material, in our opinion, could provide sufficient reason for the Sales Tax Officer to think and believe that a part of the assessee's turnover for the year 1969-70 had escaped assessment. He could, therefore, reopen the proceedings after issuing notice to the petitioner. In our opinion, there is no force in the petitioner's submission that there was absolutely no material on the basis of which the Sales Tax Officer could have initiated proceedings for reopening of the assessment under section 21 of the Sales Tax Act. Next contention raised on behalf of the petitioner is that, while making the assessment unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... made by Sri Kailash Nath dated 4th November, 1970. A perusal of the assessment order shows that, while making assessment, no reliance as such was placed on the report of the Sales Tax Officer, S.I.B. In the circumstances, we do not think that any principle of natural justice has been violated merely because the report of S.I.B., which was simply a letter and a part of the correspondence addressed to the Sales Tax Officer, was not given to the petitioner. Next contention of the petitioner is that the Sales Tax Officer was not justified in rejecting the petitioner's account books. As stated earlier the survey made by the Sales Tax Officer revealed that the assessee had maintained double sets of account and that several transactions which we ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... as Rs. 41,00,000. This, in our opinion, was a relevant matter on the basis of which the Sales Tax Officer could estimate the petitioner's turnover for the entire year. We are, therefore, not satisfied that the Sales Tax Officer has determined the petitioner's taxable turnover for either of the two years in an arbitrary manner. In this connection, the learned counsel for the assessee relied upon the case of H.M. Esufali H.M. Abdulali v. Commissioner of Sales Tax[1969] 24 S.T.C. 1. In that case a Division Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court found that the estimate of escaped turnover under the local and the Central Acts for the entire period 1st November, 1959, to 20th October, 1960, made by the Sales Tax Officer was based on mere guess-wo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... its purchases and sales over Rs. 10,60,000 and Rs. 18,00,000. Acting upon this basis the Sales Tax Officer estimated the petitioner's taxable turnovers for the entire year at Rs. 35,00,000 and Rs. 41,00,000 respectively. In the circumstances, we do not think that the basis adopted for estimating the turnover had no reasonable nexus with the estimate made by the Sales Tax Officer. Moreover, there is nothing on the record to indicate that the basis adopted was not rational or that the Sales Tax Officer was actuated by any bias, caprice or vindictiveness. In the circumstances, it is not possible to interfere with the turnover estimated for each of the two years by the Sales Tax Officer. In our opinion, the orders passed by the Sales Tax Office ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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