Back
2010 (2) Supreme 651
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
D.K. Jain, Dr. Mukundakam Sharma and R.M. Lodha, JJ.
Supreme Paper Mills Ltd. — Appellant
versus
Asst. Commnr. Commercial Taxes Calcutta & Ors. — Respondents
Civil Appeal No. 1410 of 2003
Decided on : 25-03-2010
Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941-Section 11E (2) -If on information received by Commissioner or even otherwise, if he is satisfied that assessee namely registered dealer has furnished incorrect statement of his turnover or incorrect particulars of his sales in the return submitted or even otherwise, he may issue a show cause notice to show cause as to why the assessment made should not be re-opened- It is crystal clear that show cause notice is issued with purpose of giving dealer a reasonable opportunity of being heard before an order is passed for re-opening of the assessment for the reason that he has furnished incorrect statement of his turnover or incorrect particulars of his sales in his return. (Para 11)
Interpretation of Statutes-It is a well-settled principle in law that the court cannot add anything into a statutory provision, which is plain and unambiguous- Language employed in a statute itself determines and indicates the legislative intent- If the language is clear and unambiguous it would not be proper for the court to add any words thereto and evolve some legislative intent not found in the statute. (Para 16)
Facts of the Case :
Appellant Company was carrying on business of manufacturing various types of papers at its paper mill situated at Village Raninagar Chakdah, District Nadia, Kolkata herein in the instant case. In the course of its carrying on business it filed necessary returns and also paid taxes on basis of said return. Appellant received a show cause notice from the Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Corporate Division whereby appellant was directed to show cause why deemed assessment case for the period mentioned in the said impugned notices would not be re-opened.Application filed by appellant under Section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987 challenging validity of said notices issued by respondent was Dismissed by West Bengal Taxation Tribunal. Writ petition thereagainst was Dismissed by High Court.
2.Present appeal has been filed against said order of High Court.
Findings of the Court :
Held if the Commissioner is satisfied that assessee namely the registered dealer has furnished incorrect statement of his turnover or incorrect particulars of his sales in return submitted or even otherwise and in that event a notice would be issued as envisaged therein to dealer to show cause as to why assessment made should not be re-opened. Hence notice issued in the instant case giving the dealer an opportunity to show cause within a stipulated period did not in any manner prejudice the right of appellant to file an effective reply. It was always possible for the appellant to seek for further time, if according to him the time given by the authority for filing reply was required to be extended in order to enable him to collect some record.It could not therefore be said that if detailed reasons for issuance of notice being absent in the show cause notice, the same was invalid and void. Section 11 E (2) nowhere specifically mentions that factual basis of the ground of Deputy Commissioner’s satisfaction on either or both the points mentioned in sub-Section 2(a) or 2(b) of Section 11 of the Act are required to be incorporated in the notice for re-opening of deemed assessment and supplied to the dealer. Hence held that Appellant would not in any manner be prejudiced due to issuance of said show cause notice. Appeal held liable to be dismissed.
JUDGMENT
Dr. Mukundakam Sharma, J. —
1.The issue that falls for consideration in the present appeal is whether the show cause notice issued by the respondent is illegal and defective as the same did not provide for a time period of 15 days as prescribed in the statute and also because it did not disclose materials leading to the satisfaction of the concerned authorities justifying the issuance of such a show cause notice.
2.The appellant Company was carrying on the business of manufacturing various types of papers at its paper mill situated at Village Raninagar Chakdah, District Nadia, Kolkata. In the course of its carrying on business it filed necessary returns as required under the Bengal Finance (Sales Tax) Act, 1941 (for short the “1941 Act”) and also paid the taxes on the basis of the said return. The Revenue also completed the assessment proceeding which was deemed to have been made under Section 11 E (1) of the 1941 Act by operation of law. Subsequently, however, the appellant received a show cause notice from the Deputy Commissioner, Commercial Taxes, Corporate Division whereby the appellant was directed to show cause why deemed assessment case for the period mentioned in the said impugned notices would not be re-opened. Since the validity of the aforesaid notices has been challenged by the appellant herein, we would extract the relevant contents of one of the notices which reads as follows:-
“Whereas I am satisfied that the returns filed by you which formed the basis of the above mentioned deemed assessment case exhibit incorrect statement of your turnover/incorrect particulars of sales whereas it appears to me that the assessment is required to be re- opened, you are hereby directed to show cause on 29.6.99 at 11.00 a.m. why the assessment will not be re-opened.”
3.The other notices which are also impugned herein have similar contents. In terms of the aforesaid notices, the appellants were directed to submit their reply to the show cause notice on 29.6.1999.
4.Being aggrieved by the issuance of the aforesaid notices, the appellant filed an application under Section 8 of the West Bengal Taxation Tribunal Act, 1987 challenging the validity of the aforesaid notices issued by the respondent proposing to re-open the deemed assessment for the four periods. The West Bengal Taxation Tribunal heard all the four cases analogously and by judgment dated 27.7.2001, dismissed the same.
5.Being aggrieved and dissatisfied by the aforesaid judgment and order passed by the Tribunal, the appellant preferred a Writ Petition in the High Court of Calcutta which was entertained. However, the High Court of Calcutta dismissed the writ petition by the impugned judgment and order dated 19.7.2002 which is under challenge in this appeal.
6.Counsel appearing for the appellant submitted before us that the aforesaid show cause notice is illegal and without jurisdiction as a time period of 15 days which is required to be given was not extended to the appellant to submit its reply to the show cause notice. It was also submitted that the said notices were invalid due to non-mentioning of materials leading to the satisfaction of the authority for issuance of such a notice.
7.In support of the aforesaid contentions, counsel appearing for the appellant relied upon the provisions of section 11E (2) of the Act as also on the decision of the Calcutta High Court in Apollo Tyres Ltd. Vs. Deputy Commissioner (Commercial Taxes) and Others reported in,1 2001 38 Sales Tax Advices 4 and the decision in Hindustan Lever Ltd. Vs. Director General (Investigation and Registration) and Anr. reported in,2 (2001) 2 SCC 474.
8.Counsel appearing for the respondent, however, refuted the aforesaid submission contending inter alia that what is challenged in the present case is only a show cause notice and that no final order is yet passed. It was also submitted that the pre-condition as mentioned in the statutory provision is the satisfaction of the concerned Authority that the assess
An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers
Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance
Scan Me!
India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!
For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :
Back to top
