DEBENDRA CH DAS Vs. COMMERCIAL TAX OFFICER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner carries on business in clothes under the name and style of M/s. Kalpana Dress House as the sole proprietor thereof in Alipurduar in the district of Jalpaiguri. The petitioner alleges that he is neither liable to pay sales tax under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941, as his turnover never exceeded nor exceeds Rs. 50,000 nor he is an importer of goods from one State to another so as to be liable under the Central Sales Tax Act. On 19th January, 1973, N. D. Sharma, the Commercial Tax Officer, Coochbehar, respondent No. 1, made an order whereby he rejected the books of account of the petitioner for the year 1371 B. S. as not being maintained in regular course on the ground that although the petitioner claimed to have started the said business on 1st Baisakh, 1371 B. S., but the books for the said year showed an opening stock of goods valued at Rs. 4,785.50, which indicated that the business was older than as alleged by the petitioner. The closing stock of the said year was valued at Rs. 8,018.53. No list of opening stock or inventory of closing stock was produced. Purchases were made by the petitioner personally at Calcutta and the expenses for the same was debited in the books at Rs. 117.50. Luggage tickets could not be produced. Goods worth Rs. 1,573.25 comprising mainly of ready-made goods were purchased from Howrah Hat. The total sale was shown at Rs. 9,594.57 but no cash memos were issued and sales were recorded in a jabda by actual cash counting and no rough account or slips were maintained to record daily sales. That the jabda was written every day after close of the shop by a part-time accountant as claimed by the petitioner was rejected as there was no answer as to why the same could not be produced before the Inspector on 6th October, 1970 and for their absence at the shop on that day. There was no entry for payment of any salary to the part-time accountant and only in the books of account for 1973 B. S. such salary for the said year was recorded at Rs. 120. By the said order, respondent No. 1 held that the petitioner was liable to pay sales tax with effect from 1st Baisakh, 1372 B. S., on the grounds that the purchases having been made from Howrah Hat, large scale unvouched purchases must have been made and the business being already an old one in 1371 B. S. and the dealer, having frequently visited Calcutta to make cash purchases, the business activity of this nature presupposed a substantial quantum of sale, the shop being located in a prominent business locality and information emanating from the local people indicated that the petitioner was making profit over a lac of rupees a year which might be exaggerated or malicious, but the name was compatible with the petitioner having a good quantum of sales and having visited Calcutta for purchases of goods on six occasions during 1371 B. S., whatever small expenses might be shown in the manipulated books for such visits, not less than Rs. 250 must have been spent for each visit and in order to justify the expenses and time taken for the same, the petitioner must have made a gross profit of at least Rs. 1,500 on the goods purchased on every occasion, which brought the minimum gross profits to Rs. 9,000 in respect of the said 6 visits to Calcutta. The petitioner claimed to have 15 per cent gross profit on sales which therefore brought the sales during the said year to at least Rs. 60,000; the gross sales during the year 1371 B. S. thus exceeded Rs. 50,000 on the last day of Chaitra of 1371 B. S.

(2.) On the same day, i, e., 19th January, 1973, respondent No. 1 by another order initiated proceedings for assessment under Section 11(2) of the said Act against the petitioner for the period from 1st Baisakh to the last day of Chaitra, 1373 B. S. and for all subsequent periods but no such notice for the period from 1st Baisakh to 31st Chaitra, 1372 B. S., was given as the same, according to respondent No. 1, could not then be made. Thereafter respondent No. 1 issued a notice dated 22nd January, 1973, to the petitioner under Sections 11 and 14(1) of the said Act on the ground that he was satisfied on information which came into his possession that the petitioner was liable to pay tax under the said Act for the period commencing from 1st. Baisakh and ending with 1st day of Chaitra, 1373 B. S., but the petitioner failed to get himself registered and it was necessary to make an assessment under Section 11(2) of the Act in respect of the above period as well as for all subsequent periods up to 1st day of Chaitra, 1378 B. S. By the said notice the petitioner was directed to attend at Coochbehar on 20th February, 1973 and to produce or cause to be produced the accounts and the documents specified in the said notice for the purpose of such assessments together with the objections thereto, if any, that the petitioner might have and any evidence in support thereof and, failing compliance, the assessment under Section 11 of the said Act would be made to the best of his judgment by respondent No. 1 without reference to the petitioner.

(3.) By the said notice 18 items of documents were required to be produced by the petitioner.