Reassessment notice validity: seller's tax record can justify escaped turnover belief, and later reassessment communication does not cancel it.

Information from the selling dealer's assessment record can justify a prima facie belief that a purchaser's taxable turnover has escaped assessment, supporting issuance of a reassessment notice under the Haryana General Sales Tax Act. A later communication issued during the reassessment process does not amount to a fresh notice and does not invalidate the earlier notice. Any alleged defect in the reassessment proceedings is to be raised in appeal against the final order, rather than by challenging each intermediate step through writ proceedings.

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Issues: Whether the Assessing Authority was justified in issuing notices for reassessment under section 31 of the Haryana General Sales Tax Act on the basis of information showing that the selling dealer had not paid tax on the first-stage sale of vegetable ghee, and whether the subsequent communication invalidated the reassessment notice.

Analysis: The assessment record of the selling dealer disclosed that it had not shown sales of vegetable ghee to the petitioners and had not paid tax on those transactions. On that basis, the Assessing Authority could form a tentative opinion that the petitioners' taxable turnover had escaped assessment. The notice under section 31 was therefore validly issued. The later communication was only a step in the reassessment process and not a fresh notice; it did not rescind the earlier notice. Any alleged illegality in the reassessment proceedings could be challenged in appeal against the final order and not through writ petitions at each intermediate stage.

Conclusion: The reassessment notices were held to be valid, and the writ petitions failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Information from the assessment record of the selling dealer can justify a prima facie belief that turnover has escaped assessment, and an interim communication during reassessment does not nullify a valid notice issued under the reassessment provision.

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