Premature VAT assessment before extended audit-report deadline was unsustainable; the order was set aside and reassessment directed.

Rule 16-A(1) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Rules, 2007 required the audit report in Form WW to be filed within the prescribed time, and the Government Order extended that time for assessees in cyclone-hit areas, including Chennai. An assessment made before expiry of the extended period, and without waiting for the audit report, was premature and could not be sustained. The assessment was set aside and the matter remitted for fresh assessment after receipt of Form WW.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order was premature and liable to be set aside for having been passed before the expiry of the time available to file the audit report in Form WW, including the extended time granted by Government Order.

Analysis: Rule 16-A(1) of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Rules, 2007 required the audit report in Form WW to be furnished within the prescribed period after the end of the financial year. On the facts, the time initially available to file the report was extended by the Government Order up to 10.01.2017 for assessees whose principal place of business was in the cyclone-hit areas, which included Chennai. The impugned assessment order had been passed before that extended period expired, without waiting for submission of the audit report. Such an order could not be sustained because the dealer was still within the permitted time to furnish the report.

Conclusion: The assessment order was rightly set aside and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment after receipt of the audit report in Form WW.

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