Full opportunity before tax levy required; assessment and demand notices quashed and remitted for fresh consideration.

Assessment, penalty and interest cannot be finalised without a full and effective opportunity for the dealer to produce books of account and supporting records. The Court held that a realistic assessment must be based on proper disclosure and due consideration of the available materials, especially where adverse fiscal consequences follow. As the dealer was not given a meaningful opportunity commensurate with the levy imposed, the assessment orders and consequential demand notices were quashed and the matter was remitted for fresh consideration after permitting production of all relevant records.

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Issues: Whether the assessment, penalty and interest orders could be sustained when the dealer was not afforded a full and effective opportunity to produce books of account and supporting material before finalisation of tax liability.

Analysis: The dealer had been called upon to produce records and had appeared before the authority, but the Court found that the materials were not considered after granting a meaningful opportunity commensurate with the consequences of levy of tax, penalty and interest. The Court held that a realistic assessment must rest on proper disclosure and consideration of available records, and that justice required the dealer to be permitted to place the documents before the authority before adverse consequences were imposed.

Conclusion: The impugned assessment orders and consequential demand notices were quashed, and the matter was sent back for fresh consideration after giving the dealer reasonable opportunity to produce all relevant records.

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