Reassessment orders need recorded reasons and consideration of objections; bare reopening without application of mind is unsustainable.

A reassessment order under section 21 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act was held unsustainable because the authority did not record reasons showing application of mind to the dealer's reply or the material on record. A reopening power requires a bona fide reason to believe that turnover has escaped assessment or been under-assessed, and the objections raised by the assessee must be dealt with expressly. A bare direction for reassessment, without a prima facie finding on the disputed items or a reasoned rejection of the explanation, is insufficient and offends fairness implicit in Article 14. The writ petition was allowed and the order quashed, with liberty to proceed afresh after due hearing.

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Issues: Whether the order directing reassessment under section 21 of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, 1948 was valid when it did not record reasons after considering the dealer's reply and the material on record.

Analysis: The statutory power to reopen assessment requires a bona fide reason to believe that turnover has escaped assessment or has been under-assessed, and the authority must apply its mind to the material before it. The requirement is not satisfied by a bare direction for reassessment. When the dealer files a reply to the notice, the authority must deal with the objections and disclose why the explanation is rejected. The order in question did not record any prima facie finding as to how the original assessment was erroneous or why tax was payable on the disputed items, and it failed to assign reasons after considering the reply. The absence of recorded reasons also offended the requirement of fairness implicit in Article 14.

Conclusion: The reassessment order was unsustainable and was quashed. The writ petition was allowed, with liberty to proceed afresh after affording due opportunity of hearing.

Ratio Decidendi: A reassessment or reopening order must be supported by recorded reasons showing application of mind to the assessee's objections and the material on record; a bare invocation of escaped assessment is insufficient.

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