TDS credit particulars must be obtained before reassessment; incomplete material rendered the VAT orders unsustainable and required fresh hearing.

Assessments under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act were found unsustainable where the assessing authority passed the reassessment orders before obtaining TDS credit particulars that were central to determining liability. The omission went to the root of the assessment, and the fact that objections had been considered did not cure the defect. Typographical errors in the dealer identification number further supported the need for a fresh exercise. The impugned orders were set aside, and the matter was remanded for fresh assessment after obtaining the TDS credit details and granting the assessee a personal hearing.

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Issues: Whether the impugned reassessment orders could stand when the assessing authority sought TDS credit particulars only after passing the orders, and whether the matter required remand for fresh consideration after giving the assessee a personal hearing.

Analysis: The assessments arose under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 on the basis of returns filed under Section 21 and deemed assessments under Section 22(2). The core dispute concerned credit for tax deducted at source, and the record showed that the assessing authority had sought credit particulars from the TDS circle only after the impugned orders were passed. Since the assessments were made without the relevant TDS credit details, the defect went to the root of the decision and could not be cured by the fact that objections had been considered. The presence of typographical errors in the dealer identification number further reinforced the need for a fresh exercise.

Conclusion: The impugned orders were set aside and the matter was remanded for fresh assessment after obtaining TDS credit particulars and granting a personal hearing to the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions were allowed in part, with the assessments annulled and reconsideration directed afresh in accordance with law.

Ratio Decidendi: An assessment made without first obtaining material bearing on tax credit entitlement, where that material is central to the liability determination, cannot be sustained and must be redone after affording a proper hearing.

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