Penalty jurisdiction cannot support best judgment turnover estimation; assessment machinery, not Section 67, governs quantified turnover findings.

An Intelligence Officer exercising penalty jurisdiction under Section 67 of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003, cannot estimate taxable turnover on a best judgment basis from electricity consumption or similar indirect material. That power is confined to imposing penalty on proof of an offence and on materials clearly showing suppression or omission; if the evaded turnover is not clearly quantifiable, only the prescribed limited penalty can be levied. Estimation of turnover is an assessment function, not a penalty function. The turnover estimations and connected penalty orders were therefore set aside, and the State was left to proceed only through the assessment machinery under the Act.

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Issues: Whether an Intelligence Officer, while exercising penalty jurisdiction under Section 67 of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003, can estimate taxable turnover on the basis of electricity consumption and similar material.

Analysis: The power under Section 67 is confined to imposing penalty on proof of an offence and on materials clearly disclosing suppression or omission. Estimation of taxable turnover on a best judgment basis is a different exercise, meant for assessment proceedings and not for penalty proceedings. The availability of indirect material such as electricity consumption may support a best judgment assessment by the Assessing Officer, but it does not enlarge the penalty power of the Intelligence Officer. Where the evaded turnover cannot be clearly quantified from the materials available, the statute permits only the prescribed limited penalty.

Conclusion: The Intelligence Officer had no authority to estimate turnover in penalty proceedings under Section 67, and the estimation made on the basis of electricity consumption was unsustainable.

Final Conclusion: The revisions failed and the turnover estimations and connected penalty orders were set aside, while the State was left to proceed only in accordance with the assessment machinery available under the Act.

Ratio Decidendi: Estimation of taxable turnover on a best judgment basis is impermissible in penalty proceedings under Section 67 of the Kerala Value Added Tax Act, 2003, because such estimation lies within assessment jurisdiction and not within the power to impose penalty for proved suppression.

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