Reopening notice under sales tax law need not disclose reasons or materials where a later hearing is provided.

Section 11E(2) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 permits reopening of a deemed assessment where the Commissioner is satisfied on information or otherwise that the dealer has filed an incorrect turnover statement or incorrect particulars of sales, followed by a reasonable opportunity of hearing in reassessment. The provision does not require the show-cause notice itself to record the reasons or disclose the materials forming that satisfaction unless the statute expressly says so. A reopening notice is intended to inform the dealer and enable a reply, and its validity is not defeated merely because detailed reasons are absent. On that basis, the challenge to the notice failed.

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Issues: Whether the show-cause notice issued for reopening the deemed assessment was invalid for not granting 15 days to reply and for not disclosing the materials on which the authority's satisfaction was based.

Analysis: Section 11E(2) of the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 permits reopening when the Commissioner is satisfied on information or otherwise that the registered dealer has furnished an incorrect statement of turnover or incorrect particulars of sales, and then requires that the dealer be given a reasonable opportunity of being heard before fresh assessment. The provision does not expressly or impliedly require the notice itself to record the reasons or materials leading to that satisfaction. A show-cause notice at this stage serves to inform the dealer that reopening is proposed and to enable an effective reply. The absence of detailed reasons in the notice does not by itself invalidate it, and the dealer is not prejudiced because the statute contemplates a further hearing in the reassessment proceedings.

Conclusion: The notice was not invalid for want of recorded reasons or disclosure of materials, and the challenge to the reopening notice failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing statute authorises reopening on the authority's satisfaction on information or otherwise and provides a subsequent opportunity of hearing, the show-cause notice need not set out the reasons or underlying materials unless the statute expressly requires it.

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