Writ of prohibition refused where account books were sought as part of a lawful sales tax assessment process.

A writ of prohibition was sought to stop the Sales Tax Officer from proceeding with assessment and from requiring production of account books. The court treated the request for books as an assessment step aimed at verifying the return and determining whether taxable turnover existed. Because the assessment process was still within jurisdiction at that stage, and no basis was shown to assume unlawful action by the officer, prohibition was not warranted. The writ petition was therefore refused.

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Issues: Whether a writ of prohibition could be issued to restrain the Sales Tax Officer from proceeding with assessment and from requiring production of account books in aid of the assessment.

Analysis: The petition challenged the notice issued for filing of the turnover return and production of account books. The request before the Sales Tax Officer sought only relief against production of the account books and did not question the requirement to file the return. The demand for account books was treated as an step for verifying the correctness of the return and for determining whether any taxable turnover existed. The Court held that, at this stage, the assessment steps were within jurisdiction and it could not be assumed that the Sales Tax Officer would act contrary to law.

Conclusion: The writ petition failed and the prayer for prohibition was refused.

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