Deeming fiction for pending assessments under Kerala sales tax law overrides earlier reasonable-time reasoning and permits completion.

Section 17A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 creates a non-obstante deeming fiction under which assessments or reassessments for periods prior to 1 April 1993 are treated as pending until completed, overriding section 17, section 18 and any contrary judgment. The provision was introduced to cover pre-1 April 1993 assessments not completed by that date, and it displaces the earlier approach based on completion within a reasonable time and the second proviso to section 17(6). The effect is that the Revenue may complete such assessments in accordance with law, and the earlier view in Meerannan does not control this point.

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Issues: Whether section 17A of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 deems assessments for periods prior to 1 April 1993 to be pending and thereby permits completion of such assessments notwithstanding the earlier view based on reasonable time and the second proviso to section 17(6).

Analysis: Section 17 originally contained no fixed outer limit for completion of assessment and the controlling concept was completion within a reasonable time. The Kerala Finance Act, 1993 introduced section 17(6) and the second proviso for pending assessments as on 1 April 1993. Section 17A, inserted later, used a non-obstante clause and a deeming fiction to declare that any assessment or reassessment for a period prior to 1 April 1993 shall be deemed pending, overriding section 17, section 18 and any judgment, decree or order. The earlier decision in Meerannan was held not to govern the point because the impact of section 17A had not been considered and the decision was rendered sub silentio on that issue.

Conclusion: Section 17A applies to all pre-1 April 1993 assessments not completed by that date, and the Revenue is entitled to complete such assessments in accordance with law. The challenge founded on the concept of reasonable time does not prevail.

Final Conclusion: The legal effect of the decision is that the deeming fiction in section 17A overrides the earlier uncertainty and validates the pendency of the covered assessments for completion under the statute.

Ratio Decidendi: When the legislature enacts a non-obstante deeming provision declaring specified assessments to be pending, such assessments are to be treated as pending for completion notwithstanding earlier contrary reasoning and the doctrine of reasonable time.

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