KASLIWAL, J. - Facts leading to this writ petition are that the petitioner, M/s. Kota Box Manufacturing Co., is a registered partnership firm and is carrying on business to manufacture cartons, etc., at Kota. The petitioner-company is a dealer under the provisions of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act").

The case of the petitioner is that it manufactures cartons, box, cones made of paper, which are used for packing the goods. Craft paper is used for the manufacture of cartons and box. Paper rolls are nothing but cratf paper exclusively used for packing purposes. Pigeon partition sets, disc, rings are also packing materials and form part and parcel of the cartons. The cartons manufactured by the petitioner are used for packing nylon, polyester yarn, would on cones, cheese and bobbin for sale and delivery to the customers. In a carton craft paper bitumnised packing material, pigeon partition set, disc, right-top, bottom and side-liner are used. All these things taken together form a carton. Corrugated rolls or paper rolls are used in packing. In exercise of the powers conferred by section 5 of the Rajasthan Sales Tax Act, 1954, the State Government notified vide Notification No. F.2(8)FD/Gr.IV/75-9 dated 1st July, 1975, that the rate of tax payable by a dealer in respect of the goods specified in column 2 of the list annexed to, shall be as shown against them in column 3 of the said list. The relevant portion of the notification is reproduced as under :

"No. Description of goods : Rate of tax

7 Cartons, box, cones, and cylinders made of paper or cardboards. 4 per cent

8 Packing material, that is to say, - 4 per cent

(a) gunny bags and hessian

(b) jute twine

(c) craft paper and craft paper-bags

(d) ................................."

In the course of assessment year 1977-78 commencement from 20th November, 1976, to 30th November, 1977, the petitioner-company had sold cartons, corrugated rolls, top, bottom, side-liners, sleeves, pigeon partition and disc worth Rs. 52,14,409 and paid sales tax at 4 per cent, vide assessment order annexure 2 dated 17th April, 1979. The rate of sales tax at 4 per cent was charged on the basis of the above-mentioned notification dated 1st July, 1975. According to the petitioner-company the said assessment order has not been challenged by the department and has now become final and unassailable.

The Commercial Taxes Officer, Special Circle, Kota, purporting to act under section 12 of the Act issued a notice dated 15th February, 1983, that in the assessment order dated 17th April, 1979, sales tax had been assessed at 4 per cent but the aforesaid materials were not covered under the notification dated 1st July, 1975, and the sales tax should have been charged at 7 per cent; as such a notice to show cause, vide annexure 3, has been issued as to why the reassessment of the amount of sales tax may not be made. The petitioner by this writ petition has challenged the notice annexure 3 dated 15th February, 1983, being illegal and without jurisdiction. The main contention of the petitioner is that it was not a case of escaped assessment within the meaning of section 12 of the Act because the entire turnover had been disclosed by the assessee and had been considered by the assessing authority and after elaborate discussion the assessment order dated 17th April, 1979, had been passed. The provisions of section 12 could only be invoked when there was reasonable ground for considering that the business of a dealer had escaped assessment to the tax or that has been assessed at too low a rate in a year. According to the petitioner, it was clearly mentioned in the assessment order dated 17th April, 1979, that after examining the bills, it had been discovered that the sale of side-liner and disc was of complete set of carton which included pigeon partition, side-li