Penalty on reassessment cannot be imposed when tax was already paid and no dealer omission caused the reopening.

Section 28(1) of the Commercial Tax Act, 1994 permits reassessment where tax has escaped assessment or been under-assessed, but penalty is confined to cases where the omission leading to reassessment is attributable to the dealer. Where the dealer had already deposited the tax, the earlier assessing authority had considered that payment and refunded the excess, and the reassessment arose from the authority's own mistake rather than any omission, error, or default by the dealer, penalty could not be imposed.

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Issues: Whether penalty could be imposed on reassessment under section 28(1) of the Commercial Tax Act, 1994 when the dealer had already paid the tax and the reopening was not attributable to any omission on the dealer's part.

Analysis: Section 28(1) authorises reassessment where tax has escaped assessment or has been under-assessed, and it also permits penalty only where the omission leading to reassessment is attributable to the dealer. On the facts, the dealer had already deposited the tax, the earlier assessing authority had considered that payment and refunded the excess, and there was no omission, error, or default by the dealer. The reassessment was therefore founded on the authority's own earlier mistake, not on any conduct of the dealer.

Conclusion: Penalty could not be imposed on the dealer.

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