RADHA APPLIANCES, REPRESENTED BY ITS PROPRIETRIX, B. CHITRA Vs. STATE TAX OFFICER, PANRUTI (TOWN) ASSESSMENT CIRCLE, PANRUTI.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. Inbarajan, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Mohammed Shaffiq, learned Special Government Pleader for the respondent.

(2.) The challenge in this Writ Petition is to an order of assessment dated 30.08.2019 passed in terms of the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 (in short 'Act') for the period 2013-14. Objections have been filed by the petitioner on 03.09.2018 in response to a pre-assessment proposal dated 24.08.2018 that have been extracted in full in the impunged order. The Assessing Authority appears to have issued one more notice on 14.09.2018, to which admittedly the petitioner did not reply. Thereafter, the Officer has simply confirmed the assessment proposals without even a discussion as to the objections raised and responded to earlier. It is evident from a reading of the impugned order that principles of natural justice stand violated. The impugned order is cryptic, non-speaking and non-application of mind is writ large thereupon.

(3.) For the above reasons, the impugned order is set aside. However, I cannot lose sight of the fact that there are laches on the part of the petitioner as well who has filed the Writ Petition only now challenging an order passed in August, 2019. For this reason, I have proposed that the petitioner be put to terms and the petitioner agrees to remit 10% of the disputed demand on or before 20.03.2020 as a pre-condition to avail the benefit of the direction set out below.