2008 (11) TMI 635

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....essing authority has completed the assessment. Thereafter, finding that the assessee has not accounted five inter-State purchases, the assessing authority has issued a pre-assessment notice under section 19 of the Act, proposing to reopen the assessment. The assessee could not object to the proposal made, due to his illness and, therefore, the assessing authority has completed the reassessments under section 19 of the Act. The orders so passed by the assessing authority was the subject-matter of appeal before the first appellate authority in S.T.A. No. 103 of 2004. Before the first appellate authority, the petitioner/assessee had produced certain documents to prove that the goods covered under the four bills out of the five were not t....

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....wing questions of law for our consideration and decision. They are as under: "(i) Whether, on the facts and in the circumstances of the case, the authorities below are justified in law in not considering the grounds and not examining the evidences produced before them before drawing adverse inference against the petitioner? (ii) Have not the authorities below passed their orders on irrelevant grounds without applying their mind to the material on record? (iii) Is the Appellate Tribunal justified in law in disposing of the appeal by a vague and non-speaking order? (iv) When the inter-State consignment has not been delivered to the assessee and the relevant documents were returned to the consignor by the bank, can the authorities ....

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.... The Appellate Assistant Commissioner has considered all aspects of the case in the right perspective. The order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner is speaking in all material particulars. We agree with the findings of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. According to us, this kind of disposal is not proper. Section 39 of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963, gives power to file an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal against certain orders. It has been held in Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Law) v. G. Gopinatha Pillai [1986] KLT SN 3, corresponding to [1986] 61 STC 314 (Ker) that the jurisdiction of the Appellate Tribunal is co-extensive with that of the assessing authority. It is true that the appellate authority should no....