1969 (1) TMI 59

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.... all the transactions in the account books, the Sales Tax Officer initiated proceedings under section 21 of the Act for reassessment of the turnover. He examined three parchas containing entries of sales made on 9th July, 1957, 15th November, 1957, and 29th March, 1958. Upon verification with the account books the Sales Tax Officer found that entries totalling Rs. 651 mentioned in the parcha for 9th July, 1957, and one entry of Rs. 154 in the parcha for 29th March, 1958, were not entered in the account books. He made a best judgment assessment and estimated the escaped turnover at Rs. 3,00,000. On appeal by the assessee, the Assistant Commissioner (judicial) Sales Tax rejected the explanation of the assessee respecting the entries in the pa....

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....e dealer under section 21. Where, however, an original assessment of the turnover was made and subsequently the Sales Tax Officer discovers that all the turnover had not been assessed but part only had been assessed, there is a case for reassessing the dealer under section 21. Now, in case where the dealer has to be reassessed under section 21, the question may arise whether the Sales Tax Officer is entitled to disturb the turnover already determined in the original assessment. That is a question which must be decided upon the facts of each case. In a case where the dealer has, let us say, two branches of business operating independently, and it is found that the turnover of one branch alone has been assessed while the turnover of the other....

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....best judgment assessment. That was the case in M/s. Pooran Mal Kapoor Chand v. The Commissioner of Sales TaxS.T.R. No. 147 of 1957 decided by Desai, C.J., and K.B. Asthana, J., on 30th July, 1963. , where no return was submitted by the dealer and the Sales Tax Officer assessed the turnover to the best of his judgment, and subsequently finding that the dealer had been under-assessed made a best judgment assessment again under section 21. Desai, C.J., with whom K.B. Asthana, J., agreed, observed: "It was never contended before him [the judge (Revisions)] that no proceeding under section 21 could be started by the Sales Tax Officer if he had already estimated the entire turnover according to the best of his judgment. The best judgment assessm....

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....roceedings under section 21 although the basis upon which the dealer supports his return is false and the material adduced by him is unreliable, the Sales Tax Officer is powerless to make an assessment to the best of his judgment. The object of section 21(1) is to empower the Sales Tax Officer to reassess the turnover of the dealer, and that object would be defeated if we give to the explanation the limited scope suggested. It is well settled that the language of a provision should be so construed that, if possible and without straining at the language, the object of the statute should be achieved. When the explanation refers to the power of the assessing authority to make an assessment to the best of his judgment, it refers to the power ex....