Jurisdiction of assessing authority under sales tax rules upheld for fixed-asset valuation notice despite separate penalty authorisation.

Under section 39(4) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994, the gross value of fixed assets is to be determined by the appropriate assessing authority under rule 101A, read with rule 2(c), which ties that expression to the officer having jurisdiction over the dealer's place of business. The State's jurisdictional notifications brought Central Section officers within territorial jurisdiction over dealers in West Bengal, so the Assistant Commissioner, Central Section, was treated as competent to issue the notice. The separate authorisation under rule 205, used for penalty proceedings under section 64, was treated as irrelevant to rule 101A.

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Issues: Whether the Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Central Section, was the appropriate assessing authority competent to issue notice for determination of the gross value of fixed assets under section 39(4) of the West Bengal Sales Tax Act, 1994.

Analysis: Section 39(4) and its Explanation require determination of gross value in the manner prescribed by the Rules. Rule 101A of the West Bengal Sales Tax Rules, 1995 entrusts that function to the appropriate assessing authority. Rule 2(c) defines that expression by reference to the officer having jurisdiction over the dealer's place of business. The State Government's notifications under section 3(1) created jurisdictional arrangements that brought Central Section officers within the territorial reach of all dealers in West Bengal. The separate authorisation under rule 205 was treated as having been issued for a different statutory context, namely penalty proceedings under section 64, where the parent Act vests the power in the Commissioner and not in the appropriate assessing authority. That distinction was held to have no bearing on rule 101A.

Conclusion: The Assistant Commissioner, Central Section, was held to be the appropriate assessing authority for the purpose of rule 101A, and the impugned notice was upheld.

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