DY COMMISSIONER Vs. GOPI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Revenue is the petitioner. The respondent is an assessee under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act. The controversy relates to the assessment year 1977-78. The assessment for the said year was made to the best of judgment by the assessing authority. The total and taxable turnover was fixed as Rs.1,08,480/-. The assessment order was confirmed in appeal by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner. In second appeal the Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal set aside the assessment and ordered a remit. The only controversy raised in the revision is whether the pre-assessment notice dated 15-6-1979 was served on the assessee. The Appellate Tribunal held that there was no valid service of the pre-assessment notice and the absence of such a notice disabled the respondent assessee from filing his objections. In this view of the matter, the assessment order, as well as the appellate order, were set aside and the assessing officer was directed to make final assessment afresh after issuing a pre-assessment notice to the assessee after giving him an effective opportunity to raise his contentions. The Revenue has come up in revision.

(2.) We heard counsel for the Revenue Mr. T. Karunakaran Nambiar, as also counsel for the respondent assessee, Mr. Menon. The only short question raised, is whether the pre-assessment notice was validly and properly served on the respondent assessee. The Appellate Tribunal held that it was not so served as required by S.55B(b) of the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, in the light of the endorsement of the Peon. The endorsement by the Peon of the Department about the service of the pre-assessment notice is as follows:

(3.) Since the entire controversy depends upon the interpretation to be placed on S.55B of the KGST Act, 1963, we shall extract the provision.