https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=787253 The Jharkhand VAT Act prescribed an express five-year limit for reassessment under Section 40(4), and reassessment orders passed after expiry of that period were without jurisdiction. The Court applied strict construction of taxing statutes and held that the period could not be extended on the basis of audit objections or alleged understatement where the statute did not provide for such extension. It also noted that dealers were not required to retain records beyond five years under Rule 38(3), which supported the legislative intent behind the limit. The reassessment proceedings and consequential demand notices were therefore barred by limitation and void ab initio. en-us Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 02 Mar 2026 08:34:54 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=787253 The Jharkhand VAT Act prescribed an express five-year limit for reassessment under Section 40(4), and reassessment orders passed after expiry of that period were without jurisdiction. The Court applied strict construction of taxing statutes and held that the period could not be extended on the basis of audit objections or alleged understatement where the statute did not provide for such extension. It also noted that dealers were not required to retain records beyond five years under Rule 38(3), which supported the legislative intent behind the limit. The reassessment proceedings and consequential demand notices were therefore barred by limitation and void ab initio. Case-Laws VAT / Sales Tax Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=787253