Natural justice in VAT reassessment requires notice, objections and hearing before any fresh assessment can stand.

A reassessment under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 cannot be sustained without notice, an opportunity to respond and a personal hearing, particularly where the assessee was only under deemed assessment under Section 22(2). The HC held that this failure violated principles of natural justice and set aside the reassessment orders. It declined to decide whether the impugned orders were consequential to proceedings under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and remitted the matter for fresh assessment after notice, objections and hearing.

---

---

Issues: Whether the reassessment orders under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 were liable to be set aside for violation of principles of natural justice in the absence of notice and hearing, when the assessee had hitherto been under deemed assessment under Section 22(2).

Analysis: The Court held that an assessment under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act cannot be made without issuing notice to the assessee, calling for a response and affording a personal hearing, particularly where the assessee was only under deemed assessment under Section 22(2). The Court declined to express any opinion on whether the impugned orders were consequential to proceedings under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, and confined itself to the absence of procedural fairness in the TNVAT reassessment.

Conclusion: The reassessment orders were set aside for violation of principles of natural justice, and the matter was remitted for fresh assessment after issuing notice, receiving objections, and granting personal hearing.

---