Pending proceedings for reopening assessment under VAT law; finalised assessments cannot be reopened on audit objection alone.

Section 34(8A) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 can be invoked only while proceedings under the Act are pending and the prescribed authority is satisfied that tax has been evaded, liability has not been correctly disclosed, or excess credit has been claimed. Where the assessment for the relevant year had already attained finality and no proceedings under Sections 35 or 75 were pending, a notice issued later on the basis of an audit objection after a substantial lapse of time did not meet the statutory precondition. The attempted reopening was therefore without jurisdiction and the impugned order could not be sustained.

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Issues: Whether Section 34(8A) of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 could be invoked to reopen a concluded assessment and demand excess input tax credit when no proceedings under the Act were pending.

Analysis: Section 34(8A) permits action only during the course of pending proceedings under the Act when the prescribed authority is satisfied that tax has been evaded, tax liability has not been correctly disclosed, or excess credit has been claimed. The prior assessment for the relevant year had already attained finality, and there were no pending proceedings under Section 35 or Section 75 at the time the notice was issued. On the facts, the attempted reassessment was based on an audit objection after a substantial lapse of time, which did not satisfy the statutory precondition for invoking Section 34(8A).

Conclusion: The invocation of Section 34(8A) was without jurisdiction and the impugned order could not be sustained.

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