Delayed service of demand notice alone does not prove ante-dated assessment; contemporaneous records can defeat limitation and prejudice claims.

Delayed service of a demand notice does not, by itself, establish that an assessment order was ante-dated or time-barred. On the record here, contemporaneous assessment entries, participation through counsel, production and examination of books, and a satisfactory explanation for delayed dispatch showed that the assessments were completed on the recorded dates, so the limitation challenge failed. The Court also rejected the plea of prejudice and remedilessness because service of the demand notice triggered the challenge period, the assessee had already been heard at assessment, and the statutory recovery period remained available.

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Issues: (i) Whether the assessment orders and demand notices were ante-dated and therefore invalid as having been made beyond the period of limitation. (ii) Whether the delayed communication of the demand notices caused such prejudice to the assessee as to render the assessments unenforceable or the assessee remediless.

Issue (i): Whether the assessment orders and demand notices were ante-dated and therefore invalid as having been made beyond the period of limitation.

Analysis: The assessment records and order-sheets showed participation of the assessee through counsel, production and examination of books of account and documents, and completion of assessment on the dates recorded in the orders. The departmental registers and process records also showed corresponding entries in continuity. The Court found that the respondents had offered a satisfactory explanation for the delayed dispatch of the demand notices and that mere late communication, without more, does not by itself establish ante-dating. The allegation of manipulation was not supported by material sufficient to displace the official records.

Conclusion: The challenge based on ante-dating and limitation failed and the assessments were held to be within time.

Issue (ii): Whether the delayed communication of the demand notices caused such prejudice to the assessee as to render the assessments unenforceable or the assessee remediless.

Analysis: The Court noted that the limitation for challenging the assessment commenced from service of the demand notice, not from the date of the assessment order. The assessee's own records had already been examined at the assessment stage, no further verification was required, and the claims rejected in assessment had been dealt with on the basis of material produced by the assessee. The plea of prejudice was rejected because the assessee had been heard, the demand notices were only belatedly served, and the statutory recovery period remained available. The Court also held that the asserted inability to pursue remedies did not invalidate the assessments on the facts proved.

Conclusion: The plea of prejudice and remedilessness was rejected.

Final Conclusion: The writ petitions were devoid of merit, and the departmental action was sustained in full.

Ratio Decidendi: Delayed service of a demand notice does not, by itself, prove that an assessment order was ante-dated; where the assessment record, attendance of counsel, and contemporaneous departmental entries establish completion of assessment on the recorded date and the delay is satisfactorily explained, the assessment will not be struck down on limitation or prejudice grounds.

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