Limitation in tax assessment bars jurisdiction when statutory time limit for entry tax assessment expires

Section 8(5) of the Tamil Nadu Tax on Entry of Motor Vehicles into Local Areas Act, 1990 bars assessment under Section 8(3) or 8(4) after three years from the last date for filing the relevant return, and Rule 3(2) of the 2001 Rules fixes that return period. Applying that statutory limit, the assessment and notice issued after expiry of the prescribed period were beyond time. The document states that, in a taxing statute, assessment and collection can proceed only within express statutory authority, so an assessment made after the limitation period is void for want of jurisdiction and cannot be sustained.

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Issues: Whether the assessment order under the Tamil Nadu Tax on Entry of Motor Vehicles into Local Areas Act, 1990 was barred by limitation under Section 8(5) and therefore without jurisdiction.

Analysis: Section 8(5) prohibits an assessment under Section 8(3) or 8(4) after three years from the last date prescribed for filing the relevant return. Rule 3(2) of the Tamil Nadu Tax on Entry of Goods into Local Areas Rules, 2001 prescribes the return period. On the facts, the relevant period had expired well before the notice and assessment order were issued, and the assessment was made beyond the statutory three-year limit. In a taxing statute, collection and assessment can proceed only within the express authority conferred by the statute, and an assessment made after the prescribed period cannot be sustained.

Conclusion: The assessment order was barred by limitation and was without jurisdiction, and the writ appeal was liable to be dismissed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a taxing statute prescribes a specific time limit for assessment, any assessment made beyond that period is void for want of jurisdiction and cannot be sustained in the absence of express statutory authority.

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