Limitation bars belated sales tax notice under the Orissa Rules, making the proceedings unsustainable and quashable.

A notice issued under Section 12(4) of the Central Sales Tax (Orissa) Rules, 1957 is unsustainable if initiated beyond the prescribed five-year limitation period from the end of the relevant assessment period. The notice in question was issued after that period had expired, so the initiation of proceedings was barred by limitation and could not be sustained in law. The notice was therefore rightly quashed.

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Issues: Whether the notice issued under Section 12(4) of the Central Sales Tax (Orissa) Rules, 1957 for the relevant assessment period was barred by limitation and liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The notice was issued beyond five years after the end of the assessment period. The limitation prescribed for issuance of such notice had expired, and the initiation of proceedings was therefore unsustainable in law.

Conclusion: The notice was barred by limitation and was rightly quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: A notice issued beyond the prescribed limitation period is unsustainable and liable to be quashed.

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