Dismissal of Writ Petitions for Failure to Respond to Assessment Notices

The Court dismissed three writ petitions challenging proceedings by the Commercial Tax Officer, where the petitioner failed to submit written replies to multiple assessment notices despite appearing with original invoices. The Court held that the impugned orders were justified as the petitioner did not fulfill the requirement to respond to the notices. The petitioner was granted the opportunity to challenge the decision before the appellate authority, with no costs awarded.

---

---

Issues:
Challenging impugned proceedings by Commercial Tax Officer based on Circular No.7/2014 and failure to consider details submitted by the petitioner before passing orders.

Analysis:
The judgment involves three writ petitions filed by a business entity represented by its Partner, challenging proceedings by the Commercial Tax Officer. The petitioner argued that the impugned orders were unsustainable as they overlooked Circular No.7/2014 issued by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes and failed to consider details submitted by the petitioner. The petitioner, a registered distributor, had appeared before the respondent with original invoices after receiving notices proposing VAT on discounts and reversal of ITC adjusted. Despite providing the required documents, the impugned orders were issued abruptly, contrary to the Circular emphasizing the need to afford an opportunity to the dealer before revision. The petitioner contended that this action violated a Supreme Court decision.

The Court noted that the petitioner received multiple notices for the assessment years in question and appeared before the respondent with original invoices but failed to submit written replies to any of the notices. The Court emphasized that the petitioner should have submitted replies when appearing before the respondent. As the petitioner did not file any reply to the notices received, the Court concluded that the respondent was justified in passing the impugned orders. Consequently, the writ petitions were dismissed, allowing the petitioner to challenge the decision before the appellate authority. No costs were awarded, and connected miscellaneous petitions were also dismissed.

---