The Division Bench of the Supreme Court consisting of Justices MR Shah and BV Nagarathna while hearing a writ petition held the judgment and orders passed by the High Court quashing and setting aside the fresh assessment orders in the writ petitions under Article 226 of the Constitution of India unsustainable.
Facts
The respective respondents are the registered dealers holding VAT Registration. The Assessing Officer passed the assessment orders for the respective assessment years and assessed the tax by order dated 25.07.2012. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the respective Assessment Orders, the dealers/assesses preferred the appeals before the Appellate Deputy Commissioner (CT), Guntur.
Procedural History
The First Appellate Authority remanded the case to the Assessing Officer (AO). Thereafter the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes exercised suo moto revisional powers vide its proceedings against the order by the First Appellate Authority remanding the matter to the AO. The respective dealers submitted their objections. Pending the revisional proceedings before the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, the AO issued show cause notices for making fresh assessment orders consequent to the remand of the cases by the First Appellate Authority. The respective dealers submitted their objections, inter alia, to the effect that when the suo moto revisions are pending before the Commissioner, the AO has no jurisdiction to make a fresh assessment in pursuance of the remand order. Thereafter the AO passed fresh assessment orders consequent upon the remand of the case by the First Appellate Authority. Instead of preferring an appeal/appeals before the First Appellate Authority against the fresh assessment orders, the dealers straight way filed writ petitions before the High Court and by impugned judgment and orders, the High Court has allowed the said writ petitions and quashed the fresh assessment orders, solely on the ground that pending suo moto revisional proceedings, the AO ought not to have proceeded further with the fresh assessment.
Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and orders passed by the High Court quashing and setting aside the fresh assessment orders, the State preferred the present appeals. As per the Office Report, though served, nobody appeared on behalf of the respondent(s). Therefore, the hearing proceeded ex-parte.
Observations of the Court and Judgment
The Bench, while rendering the judgment and orders passed by the High Court unsustainable, observed that:
“We are of the opinion that the impugned judgment and orders passed by the High Court, quashing and setting aside the fresh assessment orders are unsustainable.
Firstly, the High Court ought not to have directly entertained the writ petitions challenging the fresh assessment orders. Secondly, because the fresh assessment orders were passed consequent upon the remand of the case by the First Appellate Authority pending the revisional proceedings against the order of remand, merely on that ground alone the fresh assessment orders could not have been set aside. Nothing has been observed by the High Court on the merits of the fresh assessment orders.”
Case Name: State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. vs S. Pitchi Reddy
Citation: Civil Appeal No. 7768 OF 2021
Bench: Justice MR Shah, Justice BV Nagarathna
Decided on: 3rd January 2022
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