An assessment order made without giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard, in violation of the principles of natural justice, is liable to be quashed.

I.P. Mukerji, J.

1. THE writ petitioner company (hereafter described as "the writ petitioner") manufactures and sells the well known brand of ice cream 'Rollick'. It has its factory in Village and Post Office - Jaladhulagiri, Dhulagarh, within the jurisdiction of the Howrah Zilla Regulated Market Committee. THE Act which requires consideration in this writ application is the West Bengal Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act, 1972. Section 2(h) defines "market area" as follows: "2(h). "market area" means any area declared to be a market area under section 3;" Section 13 inter alia enacts that no person shall sell or purchase any agricultural produce or be engaged in processing of any agricultural produce in that market area without a licence issued by the market committee.

2. NOW according to the respondent Howarh Zilla Regulated Market Committee the writ petitioner carries on the business of purchasing goods or processing within the designated market area. It "deals" with "Skimmed Milk, Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Kaju, Pesta, Almond, Kismis purchasing or processing them", according to the committee. This will appear from the statement made by them in Complaint Case No. 1079 of 2009 against the Director of the writ petitioner in the Court of the Ninth Judicial Magistrate, Howrah.

The market committee has the power to levy fee on agricultural produce sold or purchased or processed in the market area. Every holder of a licence is required to submit a return of his turnover under section 17A. Upon failure to furnish such turnover, the market committee has the power to initiate assessment proceedings. Such fee, it seems is on the basis of the turnover. Although, the writ petitioner had obtained the requisite licence under section 13 it had not filed its return under section 17A. By a letter dated 6th March 2008 the Howrah Zilla Regulated Market Committee told the writ petitioner that it was obligatory on its part to file such return and warned them of 'suo moto' assessment and prosecution under section 34 of the Act. After about five weeks the writ petitioner replied to this letter that the product manufactured by them, namely, ice cream was not a 'notified item'. I think that by 'notified item' the writ petitioner meant that the product was not an agricultural produce as defined in section 2(l)(a) of the Act read with its schedule.

3. BY another letter dated 11th November 2008, the said market committee told the writ petitioner that they had been repeatedly asked to submit return and pay the market fees under the Act. They stated in that letter that they were compelled to do 'suo moto' assessment of market fees under section 17A. They threatened that if those market fees were not paid within ten days from that date, prosecution would be instituted under section 34. A sheet was annexed to that letter purporting to be the 'suo moto' assessment. In that sheet or statement items like "Skimmed Milk, Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Kaju, Pesta, Almond, Kismis etc." were stated as "purchased agricultural commodities" by the writ petitioner. Various periods were mentioned in the statement from 09.07.2007 to 31.10.2008. Purchase value for each of the aforesaid periods was determined by the special officer of the committee and on that basis market fees were assessed at Rs. 10 lacs.

4. ALSO pursuant to the above threat a criminal prosecution was instituted against the Director of the writ petitioner under section 34 of the Act being Case No. 107C of 2009 in the Court of the Fourth Chief Judicial Magistrate Howrah. That prosecution was instituted by a complaint petition. Those criminal proceedings are pending. Rival Contention of the Parties:

At the time of hearing of this writ application the learned counsel for the writ petitioner Mr. Samit Talukdar, Sr. Advocate has abandoned the prayer made in the writ petition for quashing of the criminal complaint case. Such stand has also been taken in the written notes of argument filed by them. The