VAT N-2 notice defects did not invalidate assessment where hearing was granted and remand would have been futile.

Non-service of the VAT N-2 notice did not vitiate the assessment under the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003, because the inspection-based proceedings were conducted after notice and hearing, and the period for service of that notice had not yet expired. A remand for mere formal service would have been futile. The plea of bona fide non-registration was also rejected, as the record showed retention of purchase invoices and bill books. The Tribunal's remand was confined only to recalculation of tax and penalty on the basis of purchases and the profit element adopted for gross turnover, and no illegality or perversity was found.

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Issues: Whether non-service of VAT N-2 notice vitiated the assessment and whether the proceedings under Section 16 of the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003 could be invalidated on that ground.

Analysis: The assessment arose from an inspection under Section 29 of the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003 after opportunity of hearing and issuance of notice. The period for service of VAT N-2 notice under Section 16 had not expired, so remand only for formal service of that notice would have been a futile exercise. The contention of bona fide non-registration was also rejected, as the record showed retention of purchase invoices and bill books, and the Tribunal had already limited the remand only to recalculation of tax and penalty on the basis of the purchases and profit element adopted for gross turnover.

Conclusion: The challenge failed; no illegality or perversity in the Tribunal's findings was shown, and the appeal was dismissed.

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