Statutory authority for VAT audit authorisation must come from the Commissioner; Joint Commissioner's approval was treated as without jurisdiction.

The validity of a VAT audit under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act turned on who was statutorily empowered to authorise it. The provision was construed as conferring that authority only on the Commissioner, not the Joint Commissioner. As the audit authorisation in issue had been issued by the Joint Commissioner, the audit was treated as without jurisdiction and the impugned report could not be sustained. The matter was required to be reconsidered afresh after giving the petitioner an opportunity of personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the VAT audit authorization issued by the Joint Commissioner was without jurisdiction under Section 64(4) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006.

Analysis: The validity of the VAT audit turned on the statutory power to authorize such audit. The relevant provision was construed to mean that only the Commissioner could authorize the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer to conduct the VAT audit. Since the authorization in the present case had been issued by the Joint Commissioner and not by the Commissioner, the audit action suffered from want of jurisdiction. The impugned audit report therefore could not be sustained, and the matter required reconsideration after giving the petitioner an opportunity of personal hearing.

Conclusion: The authorization and the impugned VAT audit were held to be without jurisdiction, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration in accordance with law.

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