Reassessment on mere change of opinion rejected where disclosed turnover had already been examined in original assessment

Reassessment under section 19 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act could not be initiated where the turnover had been fully disclosed in the returns and examined in the original assessment. The Court held that "escaped assessment" applies to turnover not noticed because of inadvertence or concealment, not to the same disclosed material later revisited on a different view. A flying squad report alone was insufficient to reopen the assessment, and the reassessment could not be used to correct an alleged mistake or replace the earlier view. The reassessment order and additional demand were quashed.

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Issues: Whether reassessment could be initiated under section 19 of the M.P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958 on the basis of a flying squad report and a mere change of opinion, where the turnover had been disclosed in the returns and deduction had earlier been allowed.

Analysis: The expression "escaped assessment" was held to relate to turnover which had not been noticed for relevant reasons, such as inadvertent omission or concealment, and not to a case where the turnover was fully disclosed in the returns and was examined in the original assessment. The reassessment was founded only on the flying squad report, which did not constitute a sufficient basis for reopening. The Court applied the principle that reassessment power, though wide, cannot be used to correct an alleged mistake or to revisit an earlier view on the same material. The turnover in question had been allowed as a deduction in the original assessment, and therefore it could not be treated as escaped assessment.

Conclusion: Reassessment under section 19 was not permissible, and the impugned reassessment order and additional demand were quashed in favour of the petitioner.

Ratio Decidendi: A reassessment provision aimed at escaped turnover cannot be invoked merely because the assessing authority later forms a different view on the same disclosed material; a mere change of opinion does not constitute escaped assessment.

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