1994 (11) TMI 394

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... of a business of a dealer has escaped assessment to tax, or has been under-assessed or assessed at a rate lower than the correct rate, or where the licence fee or registration fee has escaped levy or has been levied at a rate lower than the correct rate, the assessing authority may, after issuing a notice to the dealer, and after making such enquiry as he may consider necessary, by order, setting out the grounds therefor,- (a) determine to the best of his judgment the turnover that has escaped assessment and assess the turnover so determined; (b) assess the correct amount of tax payable on the turnover that has been under-assessed; (c) assess at the correct rate the turnover that has been assessed at a lower rate; (cc) assess the corre .....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... bove provision, two aspects should be kept in mind, viz., (1) that the dealer should not be allowed to evade payment of tax, legitimately due by him; and (2) there should be no harassment of a dealer by exercising this power. To ensure that the dealer does not evade tax, the Act has incorporated provision like the revisional power under section 20, which may be exercised by the authorities mentioned therein who are superior in rank to the assessing authority, on the basis of material on record; to satisfy the principle that the asses- see is not harassed over and over again in respect of the assessment which has become final, the exercise of power by the assessing authority under sub-section (4) of section 14 has to be confined to cases wh .....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

..... d which came to the notice of the assessing authority subsequent to the assessment. In short, non-application of mind by the assessing authority to the material on record at the time of assessment, is not a justifiable ground to invoke power under section 14(4) of the Act. The same view is taken by a Division Bench of this Court in State of Andhra Pradesh v. Kedia Vanaspati (P) Ltd. [1994] 95 STC 208 to which one of us (Syed Shah Mohammad Quadri, J.) was a party. To the same effect is the pronouncement in State of Andhra Pradesh v. Ratna Sree Box Makers [1989] 75 STC 82 (AP). That being the position in law, the exercise of power under section 14(4) in the instant case on the mere ground that the assessing authority did not advert to the asp .....

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X

→ Full Text of the Document

X X   X X   Extracts   X X   X X