EUREKA SYSTEMS AND ELECTRODES (P) LTD. Vs. ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER (ST), PALLADAM-2 ASSESSMENT CIRCLE, PALLADAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present writ petition is filed challenging the impugned order dtd. 2/9/2021 for the assessment year 2002-2003 on the premise that it is made after an unreasonable delay and thus suffers from the vice of manifest arbitrariness, thereby falling foul of Article 14 of the Constitution.

(2.) The petitioner was engaged in the manufacture and sales of welding electrodes. The petitioner was a registered dealer under the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act and Central Sales Tax, 1956. During the relevant assessment year viz. 2002-2003, the petitioner reported a total and taxable turnover of Rs.65,21,217.00 and Rs.9,97,181.00 respectively. The petitioner claimed exemptions on transactions which according to them constituted stock transfer in terms of Sec. 6A of the CST Act. While so, there was an inspection in the petitioner's place of business on 9/1/2004. During the course of such inspection, it is stated that certain files and records were recovered. Pursuant thereto, a notice dtd. 12/11/2004 came to be issued proposing to reject the claim of stock transfer made by the petitioner and treating it to be a direct inter-state sales under Sec. 3(a) of the CST Act.

(3.) The petitioner filed its reply on 21/8/2021 and again on 25/8/2021 reiterating that the impugned proceedings cannot be sustained in view of delay. However, the respondent authority had passed the impugned order on 2/9/2021 by placing reliance upon Sec. 12 (2)B of the Act which reads as under: