Separate penalty order under amended sales tax law valid for a succeeding assessing officer when statutory conditions were met.

After amendment of section 12(3) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, a penalty could be imposed by a separate order where suppression of turnover or other statutory conditions justified it. The absence of a penalty in the original assessment order did not prevent a succeeding assessing officer from initiating and completing penalty proceedings under the amended provision. The earlier pre-amendment ruling relied on by the assessee was held inapplicable because it concerned the unamended law, and the amended-provision Division Bench ruling was followed.

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Issues: Whether, after the amendment of section 12(3) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, a succeeding assessing officer could validly levy penalty by a separate order even though no penalty had been imposed in the original assessment order.

Analysis: The amended provision empowered the assessing authority to levy penalty by a separate order where suppression of turnover or other circumstances justified such levy. The absence of a penalty order in the original assessment did not disable the successor officer from initiating and completing penalty proceedings under the amended law. The pre-amendment decision relied upon by the assessee was held to be inapplicable because it dealt with the earlier unamended position. The earlier Division Bench ruling on the amended provision was treated as directly applicable and was followed.

Conclusion: The succeeding assessing officer had jurisdiction to levy penalty under section 12(3), and the levy was valid.

Ratio Decidendi: After the amendment of section 12(3), penalty could be imposed by a separate order by the assessing authority, including a succeeding officer, where the statutory conditions for penalty were satisfied.

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