STATE OF TAMILNADU Vs. M VENKATESAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Revenue has filed the present writ petition seeking for the relief of issuance writ of certiorari to call for the records of the order dated 20.12.2002 made in O.P.No.1525 of 2000 by the Special Tribunal on the premise that the Special Tribunal totally went wrong in interpreting Section 3B and other relevant sub-clauses in granting the relief in favour of the assessee. THE assessee suffered assessment at the hands of the assessing officer on the following circumstances.

(2.) THE assessee a works contractor has done works for the Public Works Department of the State Government for the year 1997-98 by entering into a works agreement. As per the agreement, the value of the contract work was Rs. 3,31,483/-. THE assessing officer called upon the respondent assessee to produce the accounts maintained by him in order to frame the assessment for the assessment year 1997-98. As the assessee has not produced the books of accounts, the assessing officer framed the assessment by taking the total contract value of Rs.3,31,483/- and added 20% to the value for no reason and thereby brought the total and taxable turnover to Rs.3,98,780/- and confirmed the assessment on the said turnover thereby imposing a tax in a sum of Rs.43,758/- and in addition to that the assessing officer also levied penalty in a sum of Rs. 65,634/- . THE correctness of the said assessment order was canvassed before the Special Tribunal by filing petition in O.P.No.1525 of 2000. THE Special Tribunal has allowed the O.P. by interpreting Section 3-B of the TNGST Act. In the interpretation of the Special Tribunal as per section 3-B of the TNGST Act, if a person doing works contract has not furnished any detailed accounts for claiming the benefit, the assessment can be made against them by giving deduction from and out of the total contract value as per the percentage fixed in column 3 of the table attached to the above said section and thus the Tribunal set aside the assessment. THE correctness of the same is canvassed before us by filing the present writ petition.

(3.) SECTION 3-B of the TNGST Act reads as follows:-