RAJAGOPALAN, J.

The assessee was a dealer as defined by the Madras General Sales Tax Act. He did not get himself registered as a dealer in the assessment year 1951-52, under the provisions of the Act. When the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer, the assessing authority, took steps to assess the assessee, on a provisional basis under the rules, for 1952-53, the accounts of the assessee for 1951-52 were also examined on 14th September, 1953. On 4th January, 1954, a notice was issued to the assessee to show cause why he should not be assessed on his turnover for the assessment year 1951-52. The assessee did not submit any return even after the receipt of the notice. On 16th January, 1954, the Deputy Commercial Tax Officer estimated the turnover of the assessee for 1951-52 at Rs. 33, 016-1-5, on the basis of the entries in the assessee's books themselves, and assessed him to pay a tax of Rs. 515-14-0. On appeal the Commercial Tax Officer confirmed the assessment. On further appeal by the assessee to the Tribunal, the assessment was set aside. The Tribunal was of the view that the case of the assessee had to be dealt with under rule 17(1) of the General Sales Tax Rules, and it pointed out that the period of limitation prescribed by the rule, as it stood at the relevant period, expired on 31st March, 1953. The Government applied under section 12-B of the Act to revise the order of the Tribunal.

The contention of the learned Government Pleader was that rule 17(1) did not apply to the case of the assessee, as it was a case of an assessment for the first time, for completing which no period of limitation was prescribed by any of the rules. That if rule 17(1) applied the view taken by the Tribunal would be right was not challenged. So the question is, did the assessment in question come within the scope of rule 17(1) ?The relevant portion of rule 17(1), before it was amended, ran thus :-

"If for any reason the whole or any part of the turnover of business of a dealer has escaped assessment to the tax in any year ...... the assessing authority may at any time within the year or the 2 years next succeeding that to which the tax ..... relates, determine to the best of his judgment the turnover which has escaped assessment and assess the tax payable on such turnover ...... after issuing notice to the dealer ...... and after making such enquiry as he considers necessary."

The contention of the learned Government Pleader was that what was never assessed at all could not come within the purview of rule 17(1). It was on cases decided under section 34 of the Income-tax Act, that the learned Government Pleader mainly relied to sustain his contention on the scope of rule 17(1). In State of Madras v. Louis Dreyfus and Co., Ltd., a Full Bench of this Court pointed out :

"The language employed in section 34 of the Income-tax Act, which has undergone serious changes from time to time is not identical with that in rule 17 of the Madras General Sales Tax Rules and the mere fact that both these provisions are designed to achieve a somewhat similar purpose is too slender a foundation for the application of the cases construing one provision for determining the scope of the other. We, therefore, propose to confine our attention to the language used in ...... 17(1) and gather the intention of the rule-making authority as expressed by the words employed." *

We, therefore, do not consider it necessary to consider over again the cases cited by the learned Government Pleader based on the scope of section 34 of the Income-tax Act.

In State of Madras v. Louis Dreyfus and Co., Ltd., the Full Bench pointed out : "The turnover escapes when it is not noticed by the officer either because it is not before him by reason of an inadvertence, omission or deliberate concealment on the part of the assessee or because of want of care on the part of the officer, " ...... and that "this would be the natural and normal meaning of the expression 'turnover which has escaped' i