TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (9) TMI 1144
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....uments and details sought for by the Appellant have not been furnished. The Appellant, therefore, sought for a consequential direction upon quashing the assessment orders to provide copies of the documents / details requested by them in their letters dated 18.11.2013 and 06.12.2013 and thereafter, to proceed to pass an order in accordance with law. The Learned Writ Court has dismissed the Writ Petitions, solely on the ground of availability of alternate remedy. In this regard, certain decisions have been referred, to support the conclusion arrived at by the Learned Writ Court that the Appellant is bound to exhaust the statutory appellate remedy as provided under the TNVAT Act. Therefore, liberty was granted to the Appellant to file an Appeal or Revision by following the procedures under the TNVAT Act. The Appellate Authority was also directed to condone the delay, if there is any delay in filing Appeal/Revision. Thus, the question, which falls for consideration, is whether the availability of an alternative remedy is an absolute bar for entertaining the Writ Petitions. As pointed out earlier, the Learned Writ Court had relied upon certain decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court ....
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....nto and certiorari for the enforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights contained in Part III of the Constitution but also for "any other purpose". 15. Under Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court, having regard to the facts of the case, has a discretion to entertain or not to entertain a writ petition. But the High Court has imposed upon itself certain restrictions one of which is that if an effective and efficacious remedy is available, the High Court would not normally exercise its jurisdiction. But the alternative remedy has been consistently held by this Court not to operate as a bar in at least three contingencies, namely, where the writ petition has been filed for the enforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights or where there has been a violation of the principle of natural justice or where the order or proceedings are wholly without jurisdiction or the vires of an Act is challenged. There is a plethora of case-law on this point but to cut down this circle of forensic whirlpool, we would rely on some old decisions of the evolutionary era of the constitutional law as they still hold the field." (emphasis supplied) 27. Following the dictum of this Court in Whir....
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....of invoice and invoice numbers were not furnished. 6. The Assessing Officer referred to Section 17 (2) of the TNVAT Act and stated that for the purpose of claiming ITC, the burden of proving such claim shall lie on the Appellant-dealer. The Assessing Officer also referred to Section 19(1) of the TNVAT Act and stated that there shall be ITC of the amount of tax paid or payable under the TNVAT Act, by the registered dealer to the seller on its purchases of taxable goods specified under the TNVAT Act that the registered dealer, who claims ITC, shall establish that the tax due on such purchases has been paid by him in the manner prescribed. 7. Therefore, the Assessing Officer stated that the dealer should pay the wrong claim of ITC amount availed along with interest as per provisions of Section 19(15) of the TNVAT Act. Simultaneously, the Appellant dealer was requested to file their reply with supporting documents within a time frame, failing which action will be taken to revise the assessment. 8. Though the notices do not specifically mention under which provision of law they have been issued, the only provision to which the Assessing Officer can trace his power is under Section 27....
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....ise. 9. The details of declaration forms, such as C-FORM, E-I or E-II or FORM-H forms filed by the registration cancelled dealer, for his sales under CST Act separately for each year, from the date of issue of registration. 10.Whether any Assessment order has been passed accepting the returns filed by the registration cancelled dealer, under TNVAT Act and CST Act, year wise. 11.In case, Assessment order has been passed, a Xerox copy of Assessment order passed for each year under TNVAT Act and CST Act, in respect of the registration cancelled dealer may please be furnished, year wise. 12.The details of arrears if any due from registration cancelled dealer may please be furnished separately, year wise. 13.Whether the Registering Authority, has made any verification at the place of business of the registration cancelled dealer, prior to cancellation of his Registration, as required in Law, and if so with what result, a Xerox copy the verification report may please be furnished. Please also state whether the registration was cancelled as per the provision of Sec 39 (14) and (15) of TNVAT Act, after giving opportunity for personal hearing. 14.A Xerox copy of the orders passe....
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.... filed returns on E-Filing during the months mentioned in your notice. Whether any Assessment has been made based on the returns filed by dealer from the date of registration. If so, a copy of the Assessment order may please be furnished. If not the reasons for not making Assessing may please be furnished. After the above request for production of documents /details, the Appellant also relied upon various decisions of this Court stating that on account of mismatch of the details available in the intra-department website cannot be a reason to revise the earlier Assessment. On receipt of the objections, the Assessing Officer issued notices dated 03.12.2013, apart from stating that that the Appellant has effected transaction with Registration certificate cancelled dealers, a new ground was raised in the notices stating that the Appellant has not filed proof for physical movement of goods to verify the genuineness of the transactions. However, the Appellant submitted their objections dated 06.12.2013 stating that they have requested furnishing of 23 details / documents in their reply dated 18.11.2013 and those details have not been furnished to the Appellant and in the meantime, the s....
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.... 15.06.2020. 15. In the light of the recent decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court as cited supra, one of the exceptions, which has been drawn, for permitting an aggrieved person to approach this Court and invoke the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, despite availability of an alternate remedy, is when there is violation of principles of natural justice. We need not labour much to investigate and ascertain as to whether the Respondent had received the reply dated 06.12.2013, since the Assessing Officer in the Counter-affidavit filed in the Writ Petitions has accepted that the reply dated 06.12.2013 was received. If such is the case, it goes without saying that the Assessment orders dated 26.02.2014, 26.02.2014, 27.02.2014 and 27.02.2014 passed are in violation of the principles of natural justice. That apart, in the objections given by the Appellant dated 18.11.2013, apart from pointing that the selling-dealer's registration was very much valid, and that they have been filing e-returns, the Appellant sought for 23 details/documents, which have been listed above, and the Assessing Officer does not dispute the fact that he ha....