TMI Blog1965 (12) TMI 32X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ain the impugned assessments. The High Court, having regard to the circumstances of the case, refused to give the department another opportunity. We do not think we are justified to take a different view. - Civil Appeal No. 986, 987 of 1964, - - - Dated:- 2-12-1965 - Judge(s) : K. SUBBA RAO., J. C. SHAH., S. M. SIKRI JJ. A. Sreedharan Nambiar and Miss Lily Thomas, for the respondent. P. Govinda Menon and M.R.K. Pillai for Dr. V.A. Seyid Mohammed, for the appellant. JUDGMENT The judgment of the court was delivered by SUBBA RAO J.-- -These two appeals by special leave are preferred against the order of the High Court of Kerala in Tax Revision Cases Nos. 52 and 53 of 1960 relating to sales tax assessments made on the respondent for the years 1955-56 and 1956-57 respectively. The facts in the two appeals may be briefly and separately stated. The following facts relate to Civil Appeal No. 986 of 1964 in respect of the assessment year 1955-56 : The respondent has two offices, the head office is at Court Road and the branch office, at Big Bazaar. Both the offices are in Kozhikode. The branch office does wholesale business and the head office does retail busines ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n of the head office, the Sales Tax Officer issued a notice to the respondent proposing to determine to the best of his judgment the turnover which had escaped assessment. The respondent had no objection for a reassessment being made in respect of the turnover of the head office on the basis of the secret accounts discovered, but objected to the reassessment of the turnover of his branch office. The Sales Tax Officer applied the same principle in regard to the assessments of both the shops as he had adopted in the case of the turnover for the assessment year 1955-56. Taking the head office he found in regard to the general goods that the escaped assessment was 200% of the turnover assessed ; and in regard to sugar, 500% of the assessed turnover. He, therefore, added 200% and 500% to the turnover of the general goods and the turnover of sugar respectively. In the same manner in regard to the turnover of the branch office, though no secret books were discovered in respect of that office, he added to the turnover already assessed 200% of the turnover of the general goods and 500% of the turnover of sugar. With the result he fixed the total turnover of the two offices at Rs. 39,66,377- ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -section (1) before the date prescribed or specified in that behalf 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 : Provided that before taking action under this clause the dealer shall be given a reasonable opportunity of proving the correctness and completeness of any return submitted by him. Section 15B.---Within sixty days from the date on which an order under section 15A, sub-section (4) or sub-section (6), was communicated to him, the assessee or the Deputy Commissioner may prefer a petition to the High Court against the order on the ground that the Appellate Tribunal has either decided erroneously or failed to decide any question of law : . . ." It is manifest that the jurisdiction of the High Court under section 15B is confined only to the question whether the Tribunal has either decided erroneously or failed to decide any question of law. As we will point out immediately, the Sales Tax Officer acted capriciously and arbitrarily in assessing the respondent, which he could not do under section 12(2)(b) of the Act and the Tribunal confirmed t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e assessing authority in the circumstances mentioned thereunder to assess the dealer to the best of his judgment. The limits of the power are implicit in the expression "best of his judgment". Judgment is a faculty to decide matters with wisdom truly and legally. Judgment does not depend upon the arbitrary caprice of a judge, but on settled and invariable principles of justice. Though there is an element of guess-work in a "best judgment assessment", it shall not be a wild one, but shall have a reasonable nexus to the available material and the circumstances of each case. Though subsection (2) of section 12 of the Act provides for a summary method because of the default of the assessee, it does not enable the assessing authority to function capriciously without regard for the available material. Can it be said that in the instant case the impugned assessment satisfied the said tests ? From the discovery of secret accounts in the head office, it does not necessarily follow that a corresponding set of secret accounts were maintained in the branch office, though it is probable that such accounts were maintained. But, as the accounts were secret, it is also not improbable that the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
|
