Express authorisation for reassessment is mandatory where tax officers exercise KVAT reassessment powers.

Reassessment under the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 can be exercised only by a prescribed authority that is specifically and expressly authorised by the Government or the Commissioner. Because the Deputy Commissioner who passed the reassessment order was not expressly named or designated in the authorisation relied on, the court treated the order as lacking competence. The reassessment therefore could not be sustained, and the impugned revisional order was set aside.

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Issues: Whether the Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes was competent to pass the reassessment order in the absence of express authorization by the Commissioner under the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003.

Analysis: Section 39(1) of the Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003 empowers the prescribed authority to reassess tax where a return understates the correct liability. Under Section 2(24) of the same Act, the prescribed authority must be an officer of the Commercial Taxes Department authorized by the Government or the Commissioner. The authorization relied upon did not expressly name or designate the Deputy Commissioner who passed the reassessment order. The governing principle applied was that reassessment power can be exercised only by an officer specifically and expressly authorized by the competent authority.

Conclusion: The reassessment order was without competence and could not be sustained. The appeals were allowed and the impugned revisional order was set aside.

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