Deemed assessment limitation starts from the statutory assessment date, not communication, under West Bengal sales tax law.

Section 46A of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 treats the deemed assessment of eligible dealers as occurring on the statutorily fixed date, 31 December 1999, and not on the date of communication. The provision does not require a formal assessment order, hearing, or communication as in a regular assessment under section 45(1); that reference is limited to the statutory assimilation expressly provided. Using communication as the starting point would distort the reopening framework under section 46A(2). The reopening limitation therefore ran from the deemed date of assessment, and the reopening application was barred by limitation.

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Issues: Whether the six-month period for reopening a deemed assessment under section 46A of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994 runs from the date of communication of the deemed assessment or from the statutorily fixed deemed date of assessment.

Analysis: The deemed assessment under section 46A operates on a fixed statutory date, namely 31 December 1999, for eligible dealers furnishing returns under section 30(4). The provision does not contemplate a formal assessment order, hearing, or communication in the manner of an assessment under section 45(1). The reference to section 45(1) only assimilates the deemed assessment to that provision for the limited purpose stated in the statute and does not import the procedural incidents of a regular assessment. Accepting communication as the starting point would also undermine the operation of section 46A(2), which allows reopening within four years from the deemed date of assessment.

Conclusion: The limitation period for reopening began from the deemed date of assessment and not from communication. The reopening application was barred by limitation and was rightly rejected.

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