Time limitation for imposing penalty u/s 10-A of the Central...

Time limitation for imposing penalty u/s 10-A of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 - Even though no limitation period as such has been indicated in Section 10-A of the CST Act it does not mean that the Department can decide arbitrarily to invoke to the power thereunder to levy penalty at any time of its choosing. - Considering that the maximum period for reopening an assessment under the CST Act is seven years, and that too in the case of proven fraud, and considering that in this case there is nothing on record to show that the Petitioner indulged in a fraud, the period for which the penalty can be permitted to be imposed cannot exceed three years prior the date of the order imposing penalty. - HC