Court sets aside assessment orders under Tamil Nadu VAT Act, emphasizes statutory compliance, criticizes procedures, orders redone assessment.

The court allowed all the Writ Petitions, setting aside the assessment orders under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006. The court emphasized the importance of adhering to statutory provisions, criticized inadequate procedures followed by assessing officers, and urged the establishment of a centralized mechanism to address discrepancies effectively. The assessment process was directed to be redone in accordance with the principles outlined in a referenced case, with new show cause notices to be issued. The petitioners were instructed not to raise the plea of limitation, and the legal proceedings concluded without costs.

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Issues:
Challenging assessment orders based on VAT Act provisions and input tax credit claim.

Analysis:
The judgment concerns challenging assessment orders under the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006. The petitioner argued that the issues raised were previously decided by the court in various judgments, justifying the allowance of the Writ Petitions. The Government Counsel for the respondent did not contest the judgments passed in connected Writ Petitions, leading the court to follow the order from a previous case. The court referenced Section 19(10)(a) of the Act, emphasizing the requirement for a registered dealer to provide original tax invoices to claim input tax credit. The court noted that in the present case, the purchasers had indeed produced the required original invoices from the seller, indicating no need for reversal unless additional conditions were imposed.

The judgment also referred to a case where several dealers' input tax credit claims were reversed due to alleged discrepancies between their returns and those of the sellers. The court highlighted the importance of following statutory provisions and criticized the inadequate procedures followed by assessing officers, leading to assessments being set aside and remanded for reconsideration. The court urged the authorities to establish a centralized mechanism to address discrepancies effectively and ensure fair procedures for dealers to present their cases. Consequently, all the Writ Petitions were allowed, setting aside the impugned assessment orders and remanding the matters for fresh consideration by the assessing officers after issuing new show cause notices.

As a result of the judgment, the impugned assessment orders were set aside, and the assessment process was directed to be redone in line with the principles outlined in the referenced case. The petitioners were instructed not to raise the plea of limitation when new show cause notices were issued, emphasizing the need for a fair and thorough enquiry by the assessing officers. The Writ Petitions were allowed without costs, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed, concluding the legal proceedings.

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