Limitation for best judgment assessment bars late notice where statutory five-year assessment period has expired.

A notice issued under section 11(2) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, for best judgment assessment is invalid if compliance would result in assessment beyond the five-year limitation in section 11(4). The five-year period runs from the end of each quarter for which returns were filed, and while section 11(2) contains no separate express time limit, it cannot be used so late that the assessment power itself becomes time-barred. The notice was therefore barred by limitation and without jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether a notice issued under section 11(2) of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948, for proceeding to best judgment assessment was barred by limitation under section 11(4) and therefore without jurisdiction.

Analysis: Section 11(4) authorises best judgment assessment only within five years after the expiry of the relevant period, and the period is to be computed from the end of each quarter for which returns were filed. A notice under section 11(2) is not subject to a separate express time limit, but it cannot be issued so late that compliance would push the best judgment assessment beyond the statutory five-year bar. The authoritative pronouncements relied upon confirm that the assessment power itself is confined by limitation and that the authority must act within that period.

Conclusion: The impugned notice was barred by limitation and was without jurisdiction.

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