https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=150181 Before penalty under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act is imposed, rule 54 requires a real and meaningful opportunity of being heard, reflecting natural justice. A written notice is not invariably mandatory because neither the rule nor the statute expressly insists on it, but any communication must sufficiently apprise the dealer of the proposed charge and allow an effective explanation. On the facts, the oral query during assessment was only a token notice: the dealer was not properly informed of the precise allegation or given adequate time to seek instructions. The penalty order was therefore unsustainable for want of compliance with rule 54. en-us Thu, 23 Dec 1971 00:00:00 +0530 Thu, 09 May 2013 17:44:45 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=150181 Before penalty under the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act is imposed, rule 54 requires a real and meaningful opportunity of being heard, reflecting natural justice. A written notice is not invariably mandatory because neither the rule nor the statute expressly insists on it, but any communication must sufficiently apprise the dealer of the proposed charge and allow an effective explanation. On the facts, the oral query during assessment was only a token notice: the dealer was not properly informed of the precise allegation or given adequate time to seek instructions. The penalty order was therefore unsustainable for want of compliance with rule 54. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Thu, 23 Dec 1971 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=150181