TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2022 (3) TMI 1660
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.... For the Opposite Parties : Mr. Sunil Mishra, Additional Standing Counsel, Mr. Sunil Mishra, Additional Standing Counsel, Mr. Sunil Mishra, Additional Standing Counsel And Mr. Sunil Mishra, Additional Standing Counsel ORDER 1. The present petitions are listed before this Larger Bench on account of an order passed by a Division Bench of two learned Judges of this Court on 20th October 2014 in W.P.(C) No.16957 of 2009 which reads as under: "This Writ Petition has been filed challenging the validity and legality of assessment order dated 31.03.2009 passed by the Assessing Authority, Bhubaneswar I Circle, Bhubaneswar, under Section 42 of Orissa Value Added Tax Act, 2004 (for short, 'OVAT Act') for the period 01.04.2005 to 30.04....
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....dit visit report dated 31.03.2008 and audit assessment dated 20.08.2008 would be non est / unsustainable in the eye of law. Normally, it is a mixed question of fact and law. But the documents annexed to the writ petition reveal that there is infraction of the provision and time provided under Section 41(4) has not been adhered to. Section 41(4) provides that after completion of tax audit of any dealer under sub-section (3), the officer authorized to conduct such audit shall, within seven days from the date of completion of the audit, submit the audit report to the assessing authority in the prescribed form along with the statements recorded and documents obtained evidencing suppression of purchases or sales, or both, erroneous claims of ded....
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....evenue submits that Sub-Section (4) prescribes no adverse consequence in the event of noncompliance of seven days period stipulated therein and, therefore, the same ought to be inferred as directory and not mandatory. He further contends that the period of "seven days" as prescribed in Sub-Section (4) refers to the period within which the "Audit visit Report" is required to be submitted to the Assessing Officer and such period is in no way connected to the dealer in any manner. Such audit report once received by the Assessing Officer, a copy thereof is required to be sent to the assessee under Section 42 (1) and, therefore, consequently no right of a dealer accrues nor stands extinguished, even if the aforesaid period stipulated is crossed ....
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....ims of deductions including input tax credit and evasion of tax, if any, relevant for the purpose of investigation, assessment or such other purposes. 3. A question is whether the requirement of the Authorized Officer having to submit the audit report to the Assessing Authority within seven days from the date of completion of the audit is mandatory or directory? 4. Learned counsel for the Petitioner had cited before the Division Bench of this Court, the decision of another Division Bench of this Court comprising two learned Judges in Jindal Stainless Ltd. (now JSL Ltd.) v. State of Orissa (2012) 54 VST 1 (Orissa). 5. After noticing the said judgment, the Division Bench of two learned Judges in the referral order proceeded to state ....
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....e Court should sit in all cases to decide questions of law, and for that reason the Supreme Court of the United States does so. But having regard to the volume of work demanding the attention of the Court, it has been found necessary in India as a general rule of practice and convenience that the Court should sit in Divisions, each Division being constituted of Judges whose number may be determined by the exigencies of judicial need, by the nature of the case including any statutory mandate relative thereto, and by such other considerations which the Chief Justice, in whom such authority devolves by convention, may find most appropriate. It is in order to guard against the possibility of inconsistent decisions on points of law by different ....