Court allows appeal, directs assessee to treat order as show cause notice. Opportunity for reassessment granted.

The Court allowed the writ appeal, setting aside the assessment order and directing the assessee to treat it as a show cause notice. The appellant was granted an opportunity to submit original Form F declarations for reassessment, with no coercive action until completion. The Court emphasized that Form F declarations cannot be rejected on technical grounds and granted the appellant a chance to present their case to the Assessing Officer. Additionally, the respondent was directed to investigate the source of the bogus Form F declarations received by the appellant.

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Issues:
Challenging assessment order under CST Act for 2016-17 based on natural justice violation and late service of order. Validity of Form F declarations submitted by assessee. Opportunity for reassessment after obtaining original Form F declarations.

Analysis:
The appeal was filed against an order from a learned Single Judge concerning a writ petition challenging an assessment order under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 for the year 2016-17. The assessee, a dealer in automobile spares, contested the assessment order on grounds of natural justice violation and delayed service of the order. Initially, the assessee submitted Form F declarations which were later deemed bogus by the Department. Subsequently, the assessee obtained original Form F declarations from the web portal of the Commercial Taxes Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The learned Single Judge directed the assessee to pursue the appeal remedy. The appellant argued that the order was served late and violated natural justice principles. The Additional Government Pleader contended that the issues could be raised before the Appellate Authority.

Upon review, the Court found that the original Form F declarations were obtained after the assessment was completed. The purpose of Form F declarations is to avail a concessional rate of tax, and the Assessing Officer cannot reject them on technical grounds. A circular by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes allowed acceptance of Form F declarations even after assessment completion. The Court decided to grant the appellant one opportunity to submit the original Form F declarations and present their case to the Assessing Officer for a proper assessment. The writ appeal was allowed, setting aside the previous order and directing the assessee to treat the assessment order as a show cause notice, submit objections within 15 days, and provide the original Form F declarations for reassessment. No coercive action was to be taken until the reassessment was completed.

The appellant claimed they received bogus Form F declarations from the consignee without their knowledge. The Court directed the respondent to investigate the matter and take appropriate action against those responsible. No costs were awarded in this judgment.

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