TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2016 (7) TMI 1150
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....nufacturing of tyres and tubes for bicycles. The company is a registered dealer under the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act ('VAT Act' for short) and had paid VAT at the rate of 4% relying on Entry 6 of ScheduleII of the VAT Act, which includes bicycles, tricycles, cycle rickshaws, pedal rickshaws, and cycles combination and accessories and parts thereof. For the year 200607, the assessee had filed the return under the local as well as Central Sales Tax Acts. Such return was accepted by the Assessing Officer, who passed an order of assessment on 23.02.2010. For many years thereafter, there were no further developments regarding this assessment till on 03.02.2016, the Commercial Tax Officer, Jamnagar, issued a show cause notice to the peti....
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....tion of four years from the end of the assessment year in terms of subsection (9) of section 34. Such concluded assessment could not have been reopened in exercise of powers under section 34(8A) of the Act. II. Subsection (8A) was introduced in section 34 with effect from 01.04.2013. The same has not been given retrospective effect and therefore, cannot be applied to cases long past closed. III. Powers under subsection (8A) of section 34 can be exercised only when during the course of any proceedings, the prescribed authority arrives at a satisfaction that tax has been evaded. In the present case, no proceeding was pending. IV. Even otherwise, the classification was correctly accepted under Entry 6 and would not fall within the residuary....
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....owever lays down the time limit of eight years for assessment under subsection (8), which pertains to cases where the Commissioner finds that a dealer who has been liable to pay tax has failed to get himself registered with the Commissioner. Sub section (8A) was introduced in section 34 with effect from 01.04.2013 and reads as under: (8A) (a) During the course of any proceedings under this Act, if the prescribed authority is satisfied that the tax has been evaded or sought to be evaded or the tax liability has not been disclosed correctly or excess tax credit has been claimed by any dealer in respect of any period or periods by not recording or recording in an incorrect manner, any transaction of sale or purchase, or that any claim has bee....
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.... the judgment of the prescribed authority where necessary and irrespective of any assessment made under this subsection, the dealer may be assessed separately under the other provisions of this section in respect of the said period or periods: Provided that, once the dealer is assessed under this subsection, no tax from such transaction or claim and penalty and interest, if any, shall be levied or demanded from such dealer, at the time of assessment to tax under the other provisions of this section in respect of the said period or periods relating to such transaction or claim. Explanation - For the purpose of this subsection, "prescribed authority", "the said authority", "such authority" and "any authority" shall mean, the Commissioner or....
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....y, bearing in mind facts of the case. 11. Facts of the case are that by the time the respondents issued notice for revising the tax of the petitioner under subsection (8A) of section 34, the original assessment was already completed in February 2010. In any case, in terms of subsection (9) of section 34, such assessment became time barred by 31.03.2011. In terms of subsection (1) of section 35, the Commissioner, if was of the opinion that the dealer was assessed at a rate lower than the rate it was assessable, could have passed an order after giving an opportunity of being heard to the dealer. However, even such order could be passed as provided under subsection (2) of section 35 only within five years from the end of the year in which suc....