Jurisdictional notice invalid after transfer of trade tax authority; earlier competent notice could still be pursued

A notice issued under section 10B of the U.P. Trade Tax Act was held unsustainable because, after the jurisdiction of the concerned circle had been transferred by later notifications, the issuing authority no longer retained jurisdiction over the matter. The record also showed that assessment orders for the relevant years had already been passed and no appeal under section 9 had been filed. As the impugned notice was substantially identical to an earlier notice already issued by the competent authority, the later notice was quashed. The authority was left free to proceed on the basis of the earlier notice dated 17 June 2008 and decide the objections according to law.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under section 10B of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 on 23 July 2008 was valid despite the transfer of jurisdiction by the notifications dated 4 July 2008 and 7 July 2008.

Analysis: The assessment orders for the relevant years had already been passed and no appeal under section 9 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 had been filed. The record showed that the jurisdiction of Barabanki Circle had first been transferred from Lucknow Range A to Faizabad Range B, and then the jurisdiction of Range B, Faizabad was assigned to Range A, Faizabad. After these transfers, the authority issuing the impugned notice no longer retained jurisdiction over the matter. The later notice was also substantially identical to the earlier notice already issued by the competent authority.

Conclusion: The notice dated 23 July 2008 was without jurisdiction and not sustainable. The notice was quashed, while the authority was left open to proceed on the basis of the earlier notice dated 17 June 2008 and to decide the objections in accordance with law.

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