K.M.TRADERS Vs. STATE COMMERCIAL TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In all these writ petitions, the challenge is to pre-assesment notices that have been issued to the petitioner, proposing assessment for various assessment years under the KVAT Act. In the writ petitions, the sole contention of the petitioner is that penalty proceedings were initiated against the petitioner for the said assessment years and against the orders of penalty ultimately passed against him, he had preferred appeals before the Appellate Authority and obtained a stay of recovery, pending disposal of the appeals by the first appellate authority. The proposals for assessment are impugned mainly on the ground that the said proposals are based on the penalty orders already passed against the petitioner for the assessment years in question.

(2.) I have heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and the learned Government Pleader for the respondents.

(3.) On a consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case and the submissions made across the Bar, I find that the challenge in the writ petitions is only to pre-assessment notices which have not culminated in any orders passed against the petitioner. Although it is the case of the petitioner that pre-assessment notices are based on the penalty orders, the fact of the penalty orders being subjected to appeal before the first appellate authority can be brought to the notice of the respondent assessing authority at the time of completion of assessment pursuant to the notices impugned in these writ petitions. At this stage of the proceedings, I do not see any justification for interfering with the notices impugned in these proceedings under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Accordingly, without prejudice to the right of the petitioner to impugn any orders passed by the assessing authority, if vitiated by jurisdictional errors, before this court, I dismiss the writ petitions in its challenge against the pre-assessment notices. The writ petitions are ordered as above.