Valid service of assessment and demand notice is essential before coercive tax recovery and attachment can proceed.

Coercive recovery by seizure of goods and attachment of a shop under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 could not be sustained without valid service of the assessment order and demand notice on the assessee. Service on a surety was not valid service on the taxpayer, and the record did not show proper acknowledgment of receipt of the demand notice. The Court also noted inconsistency in how the authorities treated payment made by the landlord and in the subsequent proceedings, which undermined the legality of the recovery steps. The attachment and seizure were therefore held illegal for want of lawful service of the foundational notice and assessment material.

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Issues: Whether coercive recovery by seizure of goods and attachment of the shop could be sustained in the absence of valid service of the assessment order and demand notice under section 11 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954.

Analysis: Recovery under section 11 could be undertaken only after valid service of the demand notice. The record showed that service on the surety could not amount to valid service on the assessee, and the demand notice itself did not establish proper acknowledgment of receipt. The Court also found inconsistency in the manner in which the authorities treated the amount paid by the landlord and in the subsequent proceedings, which reflected a lack of procedural care. In these circumstances, the coercive steps taken for attachment and seizure were unsupported by lawful service of the foundational notice and assessment material.

Conclusion: The recovery action was illegal for want of valid service of the assessment order and demand notice.

Ratio Decidendi: Coercive recovery under section 11 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 cannot be sustained unless the assessment order and demand notice have been validly served on the assessee.

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