PETITIONER: STATE OF MADRAS Vs. RESPONDENT: S. G. JAYARAJ NADAR & SONS DATE OF JUDGMENT16/09/1971 BENCH: GROVER, A.N. BENCH: GROVER, A.N. HEGDE, K.S. CITATION: 1971 AIR 2405 1972 SCR (1) 751 ACT: Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959-Penalty under s. levied only when best judgment assessment is made under s.12(3). HEADNOTE: The assessee was a dealer in motor vehicles and spare parts and cartain other goods. During the assessment proceedings under the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959 it was found inter alia that the assessee had not included in the monthly return in Form A-2, three items of turnover, namely, delivery charges relating to motor vehicles purchased by the assessee from Calcutta dealers, sales of motor parts, and sales of firewood. Assessment was made overlooking the assessee's objections in respect of the inclusion of these items in the turnover. The Commercial Tax Officer also imposed penalty on the assessee. The Appellate Assistant Commissioner reduced the penalty to a nominal figure. The Board of Revenue set aside the appellate order holding that assessee did not deserve lenient treatment. The High Court in reference held that penalty was leviable only in respect of the second item in respect of which a best judgment assessment had been made but not in respect of the first and third items in respect of Which the figures in the books had been accepted. In appeal by the Revenue, HELD : The High Court came to the correct conclusion because sub-ss. (2). and (3) of s. 12 have to be read together. Sub-section (2) empowers the assessing authority to assess the dealer to the best of its judgment in the events : (i) if no return has been submitted by the dealer under sub-s. (1) within the prescribed period and (ii) if the return submitted by him appears to be incomplete and incorrect. Subsection (3) empowers the assessing authority to levy the penalty only when it makes an assessment under sub-s. (2). In other words when the assessing authority has made the assessment to the best of its judgment it can le a penalty. When account books are accepted along with other recordr there can be no ground for making a best judgment assessment. [753 C-G] State of Kerala v. C. Velukutty, 17 S.T.C. 465, referred to. In the present case the High Court rightly found that the turnovers involved in the first and third items were not determined on the basis of any estimate of best judgment since the quantum of turnovers in respect of both these items were based on the assessee's books. The penalty thus could not be levied in respect of these two items. [753 H- 754 B] The appeal must accordingly fail. JUDGMENT:
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 1404 of
1969.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
July 4, 1967 of the Madras High Court in Tax Case No. 210 of
1964.
752
S. T. Desai, A. V. Rangam and A. Subashini, for the
appellant.
T. A’. Ramachandran, for the respondent.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Grover, J. This is an appeal from a judgment of the Madras
High Court in a matter arising out of the Madras General
Sales Tax Act 1959, hereinafter called the “Act”.
The assessee is a dealer in motor cars, trucks, scooters,
motor spare parts and certain other goods. He returned a
turn,.over of Rs. 42,09,912.12 for the assessment year 1961-
62. The Commercial Tax Officer on scrutiny of accounts
determined the turnover at Rs. 68,06,331.49. During the
assessment proceedings it was found that the assessee had
not included in the monthly return in Form A-2, three items
of turnover. The first was a sum of Rs. 1,95,311.21
relating to delivery charges which the assessee had paid to
certain Calcutta dealers from whom he had made purchases of
cars, trucks, scooters etc. The second item was of Rs.
2,21,247.97 which related to the sales of motor parts. The
third item was of Rs. 1,56,539.25 being the aggregate of the
sale proceeds of firewood. The assessing authority served a
notice on the assessee to show cause why these items should
not be brought to tax. The assessee filed objections which
were rejected. The assessing authority found that the
delivery charges paid by the assessee were included in the
cost price when the cars, trucks, scooters etc. were sold by
it and sales tax at 7% had been collected by the assessee on
the delivery charges. As regards the second item it was
held that the assessee had failed to maintain separate
accounts contrary to the rules in respect of the first sales
of parts and as it was not possible to separate the first
sales from the general entries in the account books it was
necessary to make assessment on last judgment. The
assessment was completed but certain penalty was levied On
the, assessee. The assessee appealed to the Appellate
Assistant Commissioner who took the view that the failure of
the assessee to disclose the taxable turnover in the monthly
returns was due to a bona fide impression on the assessee’s
part that it would be sufficient if correct figures were
furnished at the time of the final assessment. He,
therefore, imposed a nominal penalty. The Board of Revenue
in exercise of its power under S. 34 of the Act set aside
the order of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner.
According to the Board’s findings the failure of the
assessee to disclose the turnover in question was deliberate
and called for no lenient treatment. An appeal was filed
against the order of the Board of Revenue to the Madras High
Court. The High Court allowed the appeal so far as the
first and third items were concerned. As regards the second
item it decided against the assessee.
753
Section 12(2) of the Act is in the following terms
“If no return is submitted by the dealer under
subsection (1) within the prescribed period,
or if the return, submitted by him appears to
the assessing authority to be incomplete or
incorrect, the assessing authority shall,
after making such enquiry as it may consider
necessary, assess the dealer to the best of
its judgment :
Provided that before taking action under this
subsection the dealer shall be gives a
reasonable opportunity of proving the
correctness or completeness of any return
submitted by him”.
The question is whether penalty can be levied while making
the assessment under sub-s. (2) of the above section merely
because an incorrect return has been filed. The High Court
was of the view that it is only if the assessment has to be
made, to the best of the judgment of the assessing authority
that penalty can be levied. It seems to us that the High
Court came to the correct conclusion because sub-ss. (2) and
(3) have to be read together. Subsection (2) empowers the
assessing authority to assess the dealer to the best of its
judgment in two events; (i) if no return has been submitted
by the dealer under sub-s. (1) within the prescribed period
and (ii) if the return submitted by him appears to be-
incomplete or incorrect. Sub-section (3) empowers the
assessing authority to levy the penalty only when it makes
an assessment under sub-s. (2). In other words when the
assessing authority has made the assessment to the best of
its judgment, it can levy a penalty. It is well known that
the best judgment assessment has to be on an estimate which
the assessing authority has to make not capriciously but on
settled and recognised principles of justice. An element of
guess work is bound to be present in best judgment
assessment but it must have a reasonable nexus, to the
available material and the circumstances of each case. (See
The State of Kerala v. C. Velukutty) (1) Where account
books are accepted along with other records there can be no
ground for making a best judgment assessment.
In the present case the High Court found that the turnovers
involved in the first and the third items were not
determined on the basis of any estimate of best judgment.
The quantum of turnovers in respect of both these items were
based on the assessee’s account books. It has almost been
conceded on behalf of the Revenue before us that the
determination of the turnovers relating to the aforesaid two
items was made from the entries in the books
(1) 17 S.T.C. 465.
14-L3SupCI/72
754
,of account of the assessee. The true position, therefore,
was that ,certain items which had not been included in the
turnover shown in the returns filed by the assessee were
discovered from his own account books and the assessing
authority included those items in his total turnover. For
these reasons the High Court was justified in holding that
the assessment of the first and the third items could not be
regarded as based on best judgment. The penalty thus ,could
not be levied in respect of those two items.
In the result the appeal fails and it is dismissed with
costs. G.C. Appeal dismissed.
755