Prior notice is mandatory for provisional assessment under U.P. Sales Tax Rules; assessment without notice was invalid.

A provisional assessment under rule 41(5) of the U.P. Sales Tax Rules could not be sustained where no notice was issued to the assessee before the order was passed. The governing legal position required prior notice as a condition for validity, and the assessment made for months in which no return had been filed was therefore vitiated. Because the foundational assessment was invalid, the appellate and revisional orders resting on it also could not stand. The assessee accordingly succeeded.

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Issues: Whether a provisional assessment made under rule 41(5) of the U.P. Sales Tax Rules without issuing notice to the assessee was sustainable.

Analysis: The assessment was made for months for which no return had been filed. The governing legal position required that the assessee be given notice before a provisional assessment order was passed. Since no such notice had been issued, the assessment order was vitiated. The appellate and revisional orders based on that assessment also could not stand.

Conclusion: The provisional assessment made without notice was invalid and the assessee succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: A provisional assessment cannot be sustained unless the assessee is given notice before the order is passed.

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