Reassessment of concluded inter-branch transfer assessments is unavailable absent statutory power, except for fraud or suppression.

Assessments concluded under Section 6A(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 could not be reopened under State machinery merely to re-characterise inter-branch transfers as inter-State sales when no statutory reassessment power then existed. The later insertion of Section 6A(3) with effect from 8 May 2010 was noted as a subsequent legislative conferral of reassessment power, not authority for earlier years. Reopening was stated to remain unavailable except where the assessment was vitiated by fraud, collusion, misrepresentation, suppression of material facts, or false particulars.

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Issues: Whether the Assessing Officer had jurisdiction to reopen the assessments under Rule 10 of the Central Sales Tax (Orissa) Rules, 1967 for the assessment years 1986-87 and 1987-88.

Analysis: The reopening was examined in the light of the legal position that an order under Section 6A(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 could not be reopened under the State machinery merely to take a different view on the character of the transaction. The subsequent insertion of Section 6A(3) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 with effect from 8 May 2010 was noted as a later legislative conferral of reassessment power. On the facts of the present case, the reassessment orders were passed for a period when no such power existed. The earlier original assessments had accepted the assessee's claim that the inter-branch transfers were not inter-State sales.

Conclusion: The Assessing Officer had no jurisdiction to reopen the assessments, and the question was answered in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The reassessment orders were set aside and the original assessment orders were restored.

Ratio Decidendi: In the absence of a statutory power of reassessment, assessments concluded under Section 6A(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 could not be reopened merely to re-characterise inter-branch transfers, save in cases vitiated by fraud, collusion, misrepresentation, suppression of material facts, or false particulars.

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