COMMISSIONER OF SALES TAX Vs. JEEWA KHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this reference under Section 44 of the M. P. General Sales Tax Act, 1958, hereinafter called the Act, the Tribunal has referred the following questions of law for our opinion :

(2.) THE material facts giving rise to this reference briefly are as follows: For the assessment year 1959-60, the assessee was reassessed under Section 19 (1) of the Act on the ground that the C forms submitted by the assessee at the time of original assessment were defective and, in consequence, the assessee was assessed at a lower rate by assessing the turnover covered by the defective C forms at one per cent instead of at seven per cent. The order of reassessment was assailed before the Appellate Assistant Commissioner of Sales Tax, Indore, but the appeal was dismissed. On further appeal before the Tribunal, the Tribunal held that the Sales Tax Officer was not competent to reopen the assessment under Section 19 (1) of the Act after the expiry of the period of limitation prescribed by Section 39 (2) of the Act for revising an assessment by the Commissioner. It was also held by the Tribunal that as the Sales Tax Officer had earlier accepted the C forms submitted by the assessee, he could not change his view and proceed to reassess the assessee on the ground that the C forms were defective. In this view of the matter, the order of reassessment was set aside. On an application made by the Commissioner of Sales Tax, Madhya Pradesh, the Tribunal has referred the aforesaid questions of law for our opinion.

(3.) NOW, Section 19 (1) of the Act reads as under: