Reasonable time in remanded tax assessments bars inordinate, unexplained delay that prejudices the assessee and invalidates reassessment.

Even where the Kerala General Sales Tax law prescribed no express time limit for completing a remanded assessment, the assessing authority was required to act within a reasonable time. The Court applied the principle that inordinate, unexplained delay, coupled with lack of bona fide explanation and prejudice to the assessee, makes the exercise of statutory power unreasonable. A revised assessment completed nearly 13 years after remand was found improper because records were no longer required to be preserved for such an extended period, causing hardship. The reassessment orders were therefore unsustainable and were quashed.

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Issues: Whether revised assessment proceedings initiated and completed nearly 13 years after remand by the appellate authority were vitiated by unreasonable delay and liable to be quashed.

Analysis: No express time-limit was prescribed under the sales tax law for completing a remanded assessment, but statutory power could not be exercised after an inordinate and unexplained lapse of time. The Court applied the principle that where a statute is silent, the authority must still act within a reasonable time and with due regard to fairness, absence of prejudice, and bona fides. The delay in this case was substantial, no satisfactory explanation was offered, and the assessee was placed under hardship because accounts and documents were no longer required to be preserved for such an extended period under Rule 32(21) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Rules, 1963. The long delay therefore rendered the reassessment process unreasonable and improper.

Conclusion: The revised assessment orders were held unsustainable and were quashed in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Even where no express limitation period is provided, a taxing authority must complete or reopen proceedings within a reasonable time; an inordinate, unexplained delay that causes prejudice to the assessee renders the exercise of power unreasonable and liable to be struck down.

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