Form C non-production and sufficient cause required fresh factual findings before reassessing inter-State sales taxability.

Failure to produce Form C before the assessing officer required fresh factual examination where the assessee claimed the form had been issued and later misplaced. The authorities had not recorded findings on whether Form C was actually issued on the stated date, whether non-production resulted from misplacement, or whether it was produced before the first appellate authority only after recovery. Those foundational facts were necessary to decide whether sufficient cause existed for the earlier non-production and, if so, to reconsider the taxability of the inter-State sales in accordance with law.

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Issues: Whether the assessee's failure to produce Form C before the assessing officer was explained by sufficient cause and whether the taxability of the inter-State sales required reconsideration on that basis.

Analysis: The record showed that Form C had not been produced before the assessing officer, but the assessee's explanation was that the form had been issued and was later misplaced. The authorities below did not record any finding on the factual questions whether Form C had in fact been issued on the stated date, whether non-production was due to misplacement, and whether it was produced before the first appellate authority only after recovery. Those foundational facts were necessary to determine whether the assessee was prevented by sufficient cause from producing the form earlier.

Conclusion: The matter was remitted for fresh factual findings on Form C and, depending on those findings, for reconsideration of the taxability of the inter-State sales in accordance with law.

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