Reassessments of tax require strict adherence to statutory time limits; prior assessments declared time-barred cannot be reassessed under a different provision without proper adherence to the law.

ORDER

1. Since the issues raised in all the captioned appeals are same, the parties are also the same and the challenge is also to the self same judgment and order passed by the High Court, those were taken up for hearing analogously and are being disposed of by this common order.

2. For the sake of convenience, we take up the Civil Appeal No. 4440 of 2014 as the lead matter.

3. This appeal arises from the common judgment and order passed by the Gauhati High Court dated 21.09.2012 in WP(C) No. 3178 of 2011 by which the Writ Petition filed by the appellant herein came to be dismissed by which the Order of reassessment dated 31.3.2011 passed under the provisions of the Assam General Sales Tax Act, 1993 (for short, “the Act, 1993”) was set aside and the matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer for fresh consideration.

4. In the present case, we are concerned with the assessment years 2003-2004, 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 respectively.

5. It is the case of the appellant that the assessments undertaken for all these years were time barred. The learned counsel appearing for the appellant would argue that the authority concerned having regard to the time limit prescribed under Section 19 of the Act, 1993 declared the assessments for all the assessment years to be time barred. However, later the department obtained the sanction of the Commissioner and invoked Section 21 of the Act, 1993 to bring the fresh assessment within the period of limitation.

6. The petitioner being dissatisfied by the fresh assessment challenged the same before the High Court.

7. The High Court dismissed the writ petition holding as under:-

“6. Learned counsel for the Revenue submits that the reassessment was within limitation under Section 21 of the Act which provides for outer limit of seven years if reassessment was made with the sanction of the Commissioner. In the present case, sanction was duly granted by the Commissioner on 21.03.2011 and therefore, reassessment was within time. It was also submitted that quashing of earlier assessment as barred by limitation in absence of grant of sanction by the Commissioner did not debar the assessment being made after the sanction was granted. It was further submitted that as far as ex-parte assessment is concerned, grievance of the Petitioner could be considered by the assessing authority.

7. On due consideration, we are unable to find any merit in the first two submissions in view of sanction having been duly granted on 21.03.2011 under Section 21 of the Act. Thus, the assessment cannot be held to be barred by limitation nor quashing of earlier order debar fresh assessment being made in accordance with law after the sanction was granted. As regards giving of proper hearing to the Petitioner, in view of stand of learned counsel for the revenue the assessing authority can consider the view point of the Petitioner and then finalize the assessment and may not give effect to the ex parte assessment.

8. Accordingly, we dispose of these petitions with a direction that earlier ex parte assessment may not be acted upon and fresh assessment be made after giving hearing to the Petitioner. The Petitioner may appear before the Assessing Authority for the purpose on December 17, 2012.”

8. In such circumstances, referred to above, the appellant is here before this Court with the present appeal.

9. We heard Mr. Manish Goswami, the learned senior counsel appearing for the appellant and Mr. Chinmoy Pradip Sharma, the learned senior counsel appearing for the State of Assam.

10. The short point that falls for our consideration is whether the High Court was right in taking the view that although the earlier assessments