GANGABAI Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Gangaram Singh was carrying on business in sweets and other eatables in Madurai during the assessment year 1969-70. He died on 28th July, 1971. The business was continued by the widow as proprietrix. The original return for the assessment year 1969-70 was filed by the deceased and even the assessment order was made on 25th November, 1970, during his lifetime. On 29th July, 1974, there was an inspection of the place of business and also the premises No. 9/1, Subramaniapuram, Madurai, where the deceased lived, and certain anamath accounts pertaining to the business were recovered. After issuing notice under section 16 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act, 1959, a revised assessment under that provision was made with reference to the materials available in the anamath accounts in respect of three assessment years 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72. In this case we are concerned only with the assessment year 1969-70. The assessing officer held that the anamath accounts revealed that there were purchase omissions to the extent of 331 tins of ghee valued at Rs. 51, 395.60 and on that basis estimated the sales omission of Rs. 5, 04, 517.60. The revised order was dated 15th March, 1975.

(2.) IT appears that since the widow continued the business as proprietrix the assessing authority issued a notice of reassessment under section 16 to her alone. But on the ground that the deceased had left behind him his widow, four daughters and a son of whom three were minors as legal representatives, it was contened before the appellate authority in the appeal filed against the reassessment order that the reassessment order is liable to be set aside as not having given a reasonable opportunity or violation of the principles of natural justice in that the notice has not been given to all the legal representatives. This contention was accepted by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and the reassessment order was set aside and remanded to the assessing officer for fresh disposal on merits, after notice to all the legal representatives. After issuing fresh notices, the assessing officer made a revised reassessment order on 24th February, 1976. There was an appeal against this revised reassessment order also to the Appellate Assistant Commissioner and in that appeal the sales suppression was estimated at Rs. 2, 86, 507.40. The petitioners filed a further appeal to the Tribunal. Two points were raised before the Tribunal. The first related to the question of limitation and the other related to the jurisdiction of the officer to levy penalty on the legal representatives.

(3.) IT is against this order the present revision petition has been filed.In this revision petition, the learned counsel for the assessee contended that as the original notice under section 16 was issued only to the widow of the deceased and not to all the legal representatives, that notice cannot be considered to be a valid notice issued under section 16 and only when the notice was subsequently issued to all the legal representatives after the order of remand by the Appellate Assistant Commissioner there was a strict compliance with section 16 and that notice having been issued after five years from the expiry of the assessment year 1969-70, the revised assessment order was illegal as made beyond the period of limitation. In support of this contention the learned counsel for the petitioner relied on Jai Prakash Singh v. Commissioner of Income-tax That was a case under the Income-tax Act. The assessee died on 16th April, 1967, before submitting returns for the assessment years 1965-66, 1966-67 and 1967-68. The assessee left behind him three widows, three sons and four daughters as his legal representatives and the fact of death and the names of his successors and legal representatives were intimated to the Income-tax Officer. However, the returns were filed by one of the sons in respect of all the assessment years. An assessment order was made after issuing notice to that son who submitted the return under section 143(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.