Unsigned draft assessment orders are not operative; a successor officer may complete assessment when no final order exists.

An unsigned draft assessment order does not become a valid or operative assessment order unless the assessing officer intends it as the final expression of decision and completes it in final form. Here, the draft remained provisional and was submitted for approval, so it never matured into a concluded assessment. Because no valid earlier assessment existed, the successor Sales Tax Officer was competent to complete the proceedings and pass the later assessment order. The stated principle is that an unfinalised draft cannot bar further assessment action by a successor authority under the U.P. Sales Tax Act and the relevant rule.

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Issues: (i) Whether the unsigned draft assessment order dated 14 March 1961 was a valid assessment order under section 7 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act read with rule 41(5) of the Rules framed thereunder. (ii) Whether the subsequent assessment order dated 16 March 1964 passed by the successor Sales Tax Officer was valid when a prior order was said to have been made by the predecessor.

Issue (i): Whether the unsigned draft assessment order dated 14 March 1961 was a valid assessment order under section 7 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act read with rule 41(5) of the Rules framed thereunder.

Analysis: The draft prepared by the original Sales Tax Officer was never signed and was submitted for approval of superior authority. The surrounding circumstances showed that the officer intended the draft to remain provisional and to be finalised only after receiving directions. An order does not attain finality merely because it has been drafted; it becomes operative only when the officer intends it to be the final expression of decision and brings it into completed form.

Conclusion: The unsigned draft was not a valid assessment order.

Issue (ii): Whether the subsequent assessment order dated 16 March 1964 passed by the successor Sales Tax Officer was valid when a prior order was said to have been made by the predecessor.

Analysis: Since the earlier draft never matured into a valid assessment order, there was no concluded assessment to bar further action by the successor. The successor was therefore competent to complete the assessment proceedings under the statutory provision and the rule.

Conclusion: The subsequent assessment order was valid.

Final Conclusion: The reference was answered in favour of the department, and the successor's assessment order was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: A draft assessment order does not become a valid or operative order unless it is completed and intended to be final; an unsigned and unfinalised draft cannot preclude a successor authority from making a valid assessment order.

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