Belated C-Form production must be considered on merits before recovery sale, with distraint kept in abeyance.

Belated C-Form production was not enough to unsettle assessments already completed when the dealer had failed to produce the forms at the assessment stage, despite the generally liberal approach to late filing. Even so, once the dealer filed a representation enclosing C-Forms said to cover a substantial part of the transactions, fairness required the assessing authority to examine that representation and the forms on merits before proceeding with sale of property for recovery. The representation was directed to be considered within a fixed time, and the distraint proceedings were kept in abeyance until that exercise was completed, with any remaining assessed dues to be paid after revised assessment, if any.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner's belated representation with C-Forms should be considered before completing recovery action and whether the distraint proceedings should be kept in abeyance pending such consideration.

Analysis: The petitioner had not produced the C-Forms at the stage of assessment, and the assessments were completed on that basis. While the legal position permits a liberal approach where C-Forms are produced belatedly, that principle cannot assist a dealer who defaulted in producing them in the first place. Even so, since the petitioner later filed a representation under Section 84 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006, enclosing C-Forms said to cover a substantial part of the transactions, fairness required that the assessing authority examine the representation and the enclosed forms on merits before proceeding with sale of property for recovery.

Conclusion: The representation was directed to be considered within a fixed time, the distraint proceedings were kept in abeyance till then, and the petitioner was required to pay the remaining assessed dues after revised assessment, if any.

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