TMI Blog2019 (8) TMI 823X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... This Court hastens to add that, to test with exactitude, the date of service of revisional notice on writ petitioner is relevant. In cases on hand the exact date of service has not been set out in the case file, but that pales into insignificance as the very date of revisional notice is beyond the period of limitation. Obviously service of a notice on the noticee cannot be prior to the date of the notice itself. This Court is of the considered view that reckoning date can at best be only the date of revisional notice i.e., 27.09.2018. This Court has no difficulty in coming to the conclusion that impugned assessment orders which are admittedly under Section 27(1)(a) of TNVAT Act, are barred by limitation as contained in the very provision under which the revised assessments have been made i.e., Section 27(1)(a) of TNVAT Act, as the same have been determined after six years have elapsed from the date of assessment - To be noted, limitation is based on public law principle and it is based on the public law principle that one cannot be kept guessing in eternity. This public law principle also enures in favour of the interpretation and the considered view this Court has taken. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 27.09.2018 and revised Assessment Orders came to be passed on 30.05.2019. There is no disputation or disagreement in this regard also. 6. In the light of the aforesaid undisputed factual setting, learned counsel for writ petitioner submits that the impugned revised Assessment Orders qua these four Assessment Years are barred by limitation owing to Sections 27(1)(a) and 27(1)(b) of TNVAT Act. To be noted, there is no disputation or disagreement that impugned orders have been made under Section 27 of TNVAT Act. Also to be noted, under Sections 27(1)(a) and 27(1)(b), the limitation prescribed is six years from the date of assessment and this amendment to said provisions kicked in on 19.06.2012. 7. Learned counsel for Revenue i.e., State Counsel submitted that inspection of business premises of writ petitioner with regard to these four Assessment Years was on 16.12.2016 and the proposals, pursuant to such inspection, are dated 16.04.2018. Placing reliance on the dates of inspection and inspection/proposal reports i.e., 16.12.2016 and 16.04.2018, learned State Counsel submitted that it may well be possible to construe that impugned revised Assessmen ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... writ petitions is whether inspection by the Enforcement Wing Official on 16.12.2016 and the report given by the Enforcement Wing Official on 16.04.2018 can be construed as 'determination' by adopting best judgment method within the meaning of Section 27(1)(a) of TNVAT Act. To be noted, all these cases fall under Section 27(1)(a) of TNVAT Act. 10. Therefore, the entire matter now turns on what the term 'determine', occurring in Section 27(1)(a) of TNVAT Act, would mean. 11. In this context, learned State Counsel pressed into service judgments reported in 1969 (2) SCC 396 [The Sales Tax Officer and Another Vs. Messrs Subdarsanam Iyengar and Sons], (1980) 46 STC 327 [K.Lakshmanaswami Chettiar and Sons V. State of Tamil Nadu], 1982 49 STC 58 Mad [Jeewanlal (1929) Ltd. Vs. State of Tamil Nadu] and (1981) 18 STC 193 [B.G.Natarajan Vs. The Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Pollachi West] . These judgments are for the proposition that determination is initiation of assessment. There is no disputation that initiation of assessment is qua the dealer and that happened only on 27.09.2018. To be noted, with regard to the report given by the Enf ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . This takes us to the term 'determine' occurring in Section 27(1)(a) of TNVAT Act. 14. Before that, it may be necessary to have a bird's eye view of what the term 'Assessing Authority' means. Learned State Counsel drawing the attention of this Court to Section 2(5) of TNVAT Act submitted that the term Assessing Authority has been defined and the same reads as follows: '2.Definitions: (1)..... (2)..... (3).... (4)..... (5) Assessing authority means any person authorised by the Government or by the Commissioner to make any assessment under this Act; 15. Furthering his submission in this direction, learned State Counsel attempted to protagonist a theory that 'Enforcement Wing Officer' should be construed as 'Assessing Officer'. 16. The issue turns on whether the Enforcement Wing Officer can also be construed as an Assessing Officer. Obviously in the light of the undisputed obtaining position that the Assessing Officer has a sanctus duty to apply his mind independent of the Enforce ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the context of fiscal law statute and even in the basis of judgments/case laws pressed into service by learned State Counsel would necessarily mean that the respondent should proceed to assess. What is of importance is proceeding to assess is qua writ petitioner dealer, as alluded to supra. In the considered view of this Court, 'proceeding to assess' qua writ petitioner dealer occurred only on 27.09.2018, when the revisional notice was issued. Therefore, taking the date of revisional notice as the reckoning date, it is clearly after six years from the date of assessment had elapsed. This Court hastens to add that, to test with exactitude, the date of service of revisional notice on writ petitioner is relevant. In cases on hand the exact date of service has not been set out in the case file, but that pales into insignificance as the very date of revisional notice is beyond the period of limitation. Obviously service of a notice on the noticee cannot be prior to the date of the notice itself. Wharton's Law Lexicon Fifteenth Edition, with regard to determine reads as follows: 'Determine, that there may be a lis between the parties and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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