Composition tax assessment cannot be reopened solely because the original opt-in form is missing from departmental records.

Revisional interference with a composition tax assessment was held unsustainable where the only basis was the absence of the original opt-in form from departmental records. The record contained a Xerox copy of the application, the assessee had consistently filed composition applications in later years, and tax had been paid accordingly. On those facts, the missing original form after several years did not by itself justify reopening the assessment or treating the earlier order as prejudicial to the Revenue. The assessee therefore succeeded.

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Issues: Whether the revisional authority was justified in interfering with the assessment and composition tax order merely because the original application form was not available in the departmental records.

Analysis: The assessee had opted for composition tax and the departmental records contained a Xerox copy of the application. The record showed that the assessee had been filing the composition application regularly in subsequent years and paying tax accordingly. The absence of the original form in the department's files, after the lapse of several years, could not by itself justify reopening the assessment and upsetting the order accepting the composition tax. The material on record showed that the revisional authority lacked justification in treating the earlier order as prejudicial to the Revenue on this ground alone.

Conclusion: The revisional interference was not sustainable and the assessee succeeded.

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