Returned-goods deduction must match the original assessment year, and an earlier claim before service of the order remains valid.

Returned-goods deductions under the sales tax rules are confined to the assessment year in which the relevant turnover was originally included, so the allowance cannot be shifted to a later year. Rule 6(b) requires the accounts to show the dates and refund particulars for the returned goods, and the proviso ties the claim to the original assessment year while allowing it to be preferred within one year from service of the assessment order. The time-limit does not bar an earlier claim made before service of the order; such a claim is maintainable and may be considered in that assessment order.

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Issues: Whether the value of goods returned by purchasers is deductible from turnover only in the assessment year in which it was included, and whether a claim for such deduction may be made before the assessment order is served.

Analysis: Rule 6(b) permits deduction for amounts allowed in respect of returned goods, subject to the accounts showing the relevant dates and refund particulars, and the proviso requires the claim to be preferred within one year from service of the assessment order. The proviso links the deduction to the turnover of the assessment year in which the returned goods were originally included, so the allowance cannot be shifted to another assessment year. At the same time, the time-limit is not restrictive of earlier claims, and a claim made before service of the assessment order is maintainable and may be dealt with in that very order.

Conclusion: The deduction for the returned goods was allowable in the assessment for assessment year 1976-77 and could not be claimed in assessment year 1977-78 or any other assessment year; the claim having been made in time, it had to be granted on merits.

Ratio Decidendi: A deduction for returned goods under the sales tax rules is confined to the assessment year in which the turnover was originally included, and the statutory limitation permits claims made either within one year after service of the assessment order or even earlier before the order is served.

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