Pending sales tax assessment proceedings after remand can be completed under the new law in force at finalisation.

Assessment proceedings initiated under the old sales tax law, but still pending after the appellate order was set aside and the matter remitted, could be completed under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. The court treated the proceedings as continuing until final assessment and held that the repeal of the old law did not conclude the matter before remand. The tribunal erred in treating the assessment as final before the new Act came into force. The assessment on the dissolved firm was therefore valid under the new Act, and the Revenue succeeded.

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Issues: Whether assessment proceedings initiated under the old sales tax law, but still pending when the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 came into force and after remand by the appellate authority, could be continued and completed under the new Act, and whether the assessment on a dissolved firm was therefore valid.

Analysis: The original assessment had been made under the old Act, but the matter had not attained finality when the new Act came into force. The assessment order had been set aside in appeal and the matter remitted, so proceedings were still pending and capable of being completed after the remand. The appellate tribunal erred in treating the assessment as concluded before the repeal of the old Act and in ignoring the principle that assessment proceedings continue until a final order is made. In that setting, section 61 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 could govern the pending proceedings, and the tribunal's contrary view was inconsistent with the governing law.

Conclusion: The assessment proceedings were pending when the new Act came into force, the assessment could validly be completed under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, and the tribunal's order was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The Revenue succeeded, the tribunal's order was set aside, and the appellate authority's order was restored.

Ratio Decidendi: Where assessment proceedings initiated under an old sales tax law remain pending, including after remand in appeal, they continue till final assessment and may be completed under the new law in force at the time of finalisation.

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