COMMERCIAL TAXES OFFICER Vs. AHMED ALI KURBANALI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Board of Revenue for Rajasthan, Ajmer ("the Board" herein) has referred the following question of law for the opinion of this Court which is said to arise out of its order dated 7th July, 1980, passed in Special Appeal No. 13/79/rst/udaipur : " Whether in the facts and the circumstances of the case an offence under section 16 (1) (e) of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, was made out and the penalty was wrongly directed to be imposed under section 16 (1) (n) of the said Act ?"

(2.) THE defendant-assessee (non-petitioner) was assessed to tax for the period 1st April, 1972, to 31st March, 1973, on 28th May, 1973, by the Commercial Taxes Officer, Circle B, Udaipur. THE Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer, Central Division I, Udaipur, inspected the business premises of the assessee on 21st October, 1973. THEre he found a diary and some other documents. It appeared that certain transactions of sales and purchases relating to the period 1st June, 1973, to 20th October, 1973, were not entered in the duly assessed regular books of accounts. THE Assistant Commercial Taxes Officer, Central Division I, Udaipur, seized the documents. A notice under section 12 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 (No. 29 of 1954) ("the Act") was issued to the dealer-assessee informing him regarding the reassessment of the business which has escaped assessment.

(3.) IT was strenuously contended by the learned counsel for the assessee (sic.) that the orders passed in revision by the single Member as well as in special appeal by the Division Bench of the Board holding that penalty should be imposed on the dealer-assessee under section 16 (1) (n) of the Act are erroneous in law. This is stoutly opposed by the learned counsel for the dealer-assessee.