1997 (7) TMI 624

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.... by the holder thereof to another person constitutes a sale of goods within the meaning of and for the purpose of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963. The Tribunal has held that the assessing authority was right in law to levy tax on the petitioner on the sale proceeds of REP licence. In the light of the decision of the Supreme Court in Vikas Sales Corporation v. Commissioner of Commercial Taxes [1996] 102 STC 106, it has to be held that the Tribunal was correct in its view regarding the exigibility to tax of the amount received for transfer of REP licence. Then the only other question pressed before us by the learned counsel for the petitioner was one relating to limitation. It was contended that the assessments for the years 1983-84 an....

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....d for under the Act and the Rules made thereunder have failed to do so: Provided further that all assessments pending as on the 1st day of April, 1993 shall be completed within a period of four years from the date of publication of the Kerala Finance Act, 1993." 3.. The learned Government Pleader submits that the assessment for the years 1983-84 and 1984-85 were pending and therefore even applying the provisions contained under sub-section (6) of section 17 the assessment orders were issued within time. He relied on a decision of this Court in Usha Aravind v. Sales Tax Officer, Mattancherry (1994) 2 KLT 357, in support of the above contention. The assessee had filed its return only on March 31, 1984. The assessing authority then calle....

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....ted March 9, 1966. Objections were filed in 1967. But final order was passed by the Commissioner only on October 31, 1980. This Court took the view that inordinate delay of more than 13 years in passing the order would amount to perverse, unreasonable and irrational exercise of power by the statutory authority. In the present case the assessing authority cannot be found fault with for the delay in passing the assessment order. Apart from the above, as contended by the learned Government Pleader, in the light of the provisions contained under section 17(6) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act the assessment orders were issued in time as assessment proceedings were pending on the date of publication of the Kerala Finance Act, 1993. We are a....