Affixture service of pre-assessment notice invalid unless assessee truly cannot be found under the statute.

Service of a pre-assessment notice by affixture is valid only where the person to be served "cannot be found" within section 55B(b) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. That expression was construed narrowly to cover situations such as death or disappearance, not merely that the assessee was not seen at the time of attempted service. Where the assessee is alive and his whereabouts are known or can be ascertained, affixture on shop premises does not satisfy the statutory requirement. On that basis, the notice in question was held to be invalid and fresh assessment after proper notice was required.

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Issues: Whether service of the pre-assessment notice by affixture was valid under section 55B(b) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, and whether the assessee could be said to have "cannot be found" within the meaning of that provision.

Analysis: Section 55B(b) permits affixture only where the person to be served cannot be found. That expression was construed to mean a case where the person is dead or has disappeared, and not merely a case where the person was not seen at the time of attempted service. Where the assessee is alive and his whereabouts are known or can be ascertained, affixture on the shop premises does not satisfy the statutory requirement. The endorsement in this case showed only that the assessee was not seen and the notice was therefore affixed.

Conclusion: The service of notice was not valid in law. The Tribunal was right in holding that there was no valid service of the pre-assessment notice and in directing a fresh assessment after proper notice.

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