Sales return relief time limit under Tamil Nadu sales tax law runs from the relevant sales year; belated claim was held barred.

A claim for relief on account of sales returns under section 13(5) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, read with rule 5-B of the Rules, had to be made within six months from the date of sale or before the final assessment for the relevant sales year, whichever was later. The Court held that "final assessment" in rule 5-B refers to the assessment for the year in which the relevant sales occurred, not a later year. Because the assessee's claim was made after six months and after the final assessments for those years, the claim was time-barred and not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the claim for relief on account of sales returns under section 13(5) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, read with rule 5-B of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Rules, 1959, was barred by limitation and therefore unsustainable.

Analysis: The relief claimed by the assessee arose out of sales returns relating to earlier assessment years, but the claim was made only in a later year. The statutory scheme required such a claim to be made within the time prescribed by the Rules, namely within six months from the date of sale or before the date of final assessment, whichever was later. On the facts found by the authorities, the claim had been made after six months and after the final assessments for the relevant years in which the sales had occurred. The expression "final assessment" in rule 5-B was held to refer to the final assessment for the year in which the relevant sales took place, not the final assessment for a subsequent year.

Conclusion: The claim was time-barred and could not be granted under rule 5-B.

Ratio Decidendi: A claim for adjustment or refund relating to sales returns must be made within the statutory time limit tied to the relevant sales year, and a belated claim after six months and after the final assessment for that year is not maintainable.

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