Valid reassessment notice to existing dealer is jurisdictional; notice to a non-existent firm cannot sustain reassessment proceedings.

Reassessment jurisdiction under section 21 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act depends on service of a valid statutory notice on the existing dealer. A notice addressed to an old firm that had ceased to exist after reconstitution is not a mere clerical defect; it is a jurisdictional defect because notice is a condition precedent to action. Prior communications, silence, waiver, or acquiescence do not cure the defect where the statute requires valid notice before reassessment can begin. The result is that proceedings founded on notice to a non-existent entity are void for want of jurisdiction.

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Issues: Whether a reassessment notice issued under section 21 of the U.P. Sales Tax Act to the old, non-existent firm instead of the reconstituted firm was valid and could confer jurisdiction on the Sales Tax Officer.

Analysis: The reassessment proceedings were initiated on the basis of a notice addressed to the old firm name, although the dealer had been reconstituted and fresh registration had been obtained in the new firm name. The defect was not a mere irregularity in description. Service of a valid notice was a condition precedent to the assumption of jurisdiction for reassessment, and a notice addressed to an entity that had ceased to exist could not be treated as valid. The fact that some earlier communications had been received without objection did not cure the defect, because jurisdiction could not arise from waiver or estoppel where the statute required a valid notice before action could be taken.

Conclusion: The notice was invalid and the reassessment proceedings were without jurisdiction and void; the revision succeeded in favour of the assessee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where reassessment jurisdiction depends on service of a valid statutory notice, a notice issued to a non-existent person or entity is a jurisdictional defect that cannot be cured by waiver, acquiescence, or prior conduct.

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