Section 54A summons and cross-examination not warranted where disputed C forms were produced by the assessee itself.

Section 54A of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 enables the assessing, appellate or revising authority to call for information, particulars or records from any person or authority where that material is useful to proceedings under the Act. On the facts stated, the disputed C forms were produced by the assessee itself and were not sourced from third parties. As a result, there was no basis to compel the Department to summon outside parties or permit cross-examination merely to test the genuineness of those forms. The request to direct invocation of Section 54A was therefore held not maintainable, and the writ petition was dismissed.

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Issues: Whether a writ of mandamus could be issued directing the assessing authority to invoke Section 54A of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 for summoning third parties and enabling cross-examination in relation to the alleged bogus C forms.

Analysis: Section 54A empowers the assessing, appellate, revising authority, or specified departmental officer to require information, particulars, or records from any person or authority where such material is useful or relevant to proceedings under the Act. In the present case, the C forms in question were produced by the assessee itself and were not obtained from any third party or external source. Since the assessee was the source of the documents, there was no basis to require the Department to summon outside parties for cross-examination to test the genuineness of those forms. The prayer, therefore, did not disclose a case for invocation of Section 54A.

Conclusion: The request to direct invocation of Section 54A was held not maintainable, and the writ petition was dismissed.

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