Reassessment notice limitation under sales tax law runs from expiry of the assessment year; belated notice was invalid.

A pre-revision reassessment notice under Section 16(1)(a) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 must be issued within five years from the expiry of the relevant assessment year. For the 1998-99 assessment year, the limitation expired on 31 March 2004, but the notice was issued on 21 May 2004. Following earlier Division Bench rulings, the Court held that a notice issued after the statutory period is invalid and barred by limitation, and the impugned notice could not be sustained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the pre-revision notice for reassessment was issued beyond the five-year limitation period prescribed under Section 16(1)(a) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959.

Analysis: The assessment year in question was 1998-99, so the permissible period for issuing the notice expired on 31.3.2004. The impugned notice was issued on 21.5.2004, after expiry of the statutory period. The Court followed earlier Division Bench decisions holding that the limitation under Section 16(1)(a) runs from the expiry of the relevant year and that a notice issued beyond five years is not sustainable.

Conclusion: The pre-revision notice was barred by limitation and could not be sustained.

Ratio Decidendi: A reassessment notice under Section 16(1)(a) of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 must be issued within five years from the expiry of the relevant assessment year, and a notice issued after that period is invalid.

---