The assessing authority has to exercise its discretion before resorting to the procedure prescribed under rule 52 (d) of the Rules for effecting service by affixture.

( 1 ) THIS revision is filed by the assessee under section 9-D of the Andhra Pradesh Entertainments Tax Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), challenging the order dated 19/10/1990 of the Entertainment Tax Appellate Deputy Commissioner passed in Appeal No. R-4/1990-91 relating to the assessment for the quarters ending June 30, 198 4/03/1986. The brief facts leading to the filing of the above revision petition are as follows :

( 2 ) THE petitioner is an exhibitor of films at Pithapuram, East Godavari District, paying tax under section 4 (1) of the Act. The petitioner filed returns before the Entertainment Tax Officer for the quarters ending 30/06/1984 to 31/03/1986. The petitioner filed the revision alleging that after filing the returns no communication was received by him regarding the assessments; that no show cause notice or any notice of other nature was received by the managing partner; that he was under the impression that the returns filed were accepted; that suddenly an order of attachment of the theatre was communicated to the petitioner in May, 1989, by the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer; that the petitioner was informed that the said attachment order was in pursuance of the best judgment assessment orders of the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer dated 11/05/1987, determining the tax due from the petitioner for all the six quarters; that the petitioner applied to the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer for copies of the assessment orders which were supplied on 23/01/1990 and that the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer has arbitrarily determined the tax due based on the best judgment assessments. It is further alleged that aggrieved by the orders of the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, the petitioner filed appeals before the Appellate Deputy Commissioner, Kakinada, on 29/01/1990, showing the date of service of the order as 23/01/1990; that the petitioner received an endorsement by the Appellate Deputy Commissioner dated 26/06/1990, rejecting the admission of the appeals on the ground that the filing of the appeals has been delayed by 3 years 10 months and 3 days; that the petitioner immediately wrote to the Appellate Deputy Commissioner on 23/08/1990, pointing out that no show cause notice was issued to the petitioner nor any opportunity was given for being heard; that the petitioner while re-submitting the appeal papers requested the Appellate Deputy Commissioner to give him an opportunity for hearing and to consider the admission of the appeals as they were filed within time and that further an endorsement dated 19/10/1990, was received that as the appeals have already been rejected, no further action is required.

( 3 ) THE Entertainment Tax Officer, Pithapuram, filed a counter-affidavit pleading that the petitioner was assessed to tax under section 4 (1) of the Act for six quarters from 30/06/1984 to March 31, 1986, excluding the quarters ending 30/09/1984 and 31/12/1984 after issuing show cause notices which were got served by affixture on refusal to take the notices when sent in person and by registered post with acknowledgment due; that when the petitioner did not file any objections to the show cause notices, the assessment orders for the six quarters were passed and got served by affixture on 6/06/1987, since the petitioner refused to receive the same when sent in person and by registered post with acknowledgment due; that thus, the petitioner was fully aware of the fact that he was assessed to the entertainment tax for the six quarters in question and that he has to pay the tax accordingly; that if the petitioner was really aggrieved by the assessment orders of the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, Kakinada, he ought to have preferred an appeal before the Entertainment Tax Appellate Deputy Commissioner, Kakinada, within 30 days from 6/06/1987; that against the assessment orders which were got served by affixture on 6/06/1987, the petitioner preferred appeals on 31/01/1990, before the Entertainment Tax Appe