https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=161884 Assessment based on third-party statements and accounts could not be sustained where the seller whose material was relied on had not been produced for cross-examination. Section 54 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 conferred powers akin to a civil court to summon and examine persons and compel document production, and those powers had to be used effectively to secure the seller's presence. A mere formal attempt at summons was insufficient. The Madras HC therefore set aside the assessment orders and required fresh proceedings with effective enforcement of section 54 and an opportunity for cross-examination before liability was fixed. en-us Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 10 Feb 2014 15:23:48 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=161884 Assessment based on third-party statements and accounts could not be sustained where the seller whose material was relied on had not been produced for cross-examination. Section 54 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959 conferred powers akin to a civil court to summon and examine persons and compel document production, and those powers had to be used effectively to secure the seller's presence. A mere formal attempt at summons was insufficient. The Madras HC therefore set aside the assessment orders and required fresh proceedings with effective enforcement of section 54 and an opportunity for cross-examination before liability was fixed. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Tue, 01 Feb 2005 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=161884