M/S The Ramco Cements LTD. vs. The Asst. Commissioner Of

Held

The Court held that there was no disputation that a deemed assessment had occurred on 31.10.2015 for the assessment year 2014-15 as per Sub-Section (2) of Section 22 of the TN VAT Act. The Court reasoned that once an assessment has taken place, if there are any issues regarding the reversal of Input Tax Credit (ITC), the Revenue must resort to Section 27 of the TN VAT Act. Consequently, the legal drill under Section 25 of the TN VAT Act pales into insignificance once a deemed assessment has statutorily kicked in. The Court found that the legal recourse, if any, could only be under Section 27 of the TN VAT Act. Therefore, the impugned notice was set aside on this short point without expressing any opinion on the merits of the matter. The respondent was left open to commence the legal drill under Section 27 of the TN VAT Act if so advised. The Court did not express any opinion on the merits of the challenge to the impugned notice.

Facts

The petitioner, M/s. The Ramco Cements Limited, filed a writ petition challenging a Pre-Provisional Assessment Notice dated 24.11.2014 issued by the respondent, The Assistant Commissioner (CT)-III (FAC), Virudhunagar. The notice pertained to the assessment year 2014-15 and was issued under Section 25 of the Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006 (TN VAT Act). The petitioner argued that the notice was flawed as it clubbed more than six months, whereas each month is a unit for assessment. Furthermore, the petitioner contended that a deemed assessment had statutorily occurred on 31.10.2015 under Section 22(2) of the TN VAT Act, making Section 25 unavailable to the respondent post that date, and that the respondent should have resorted to Section 27.

Key Issues

1. Whether the Pre-Provisional Assessment Notice issued under Section 25 of the TN VAT Act is valid when a deemed assessment has already occurred under Section 22(2) of the TN VAT Act for the assessment year 2014-15? 2. Whether the respondent can resort to Section 25 of the TN VAT Act for issuing a pre-provisional assessment notice after a deemed assessment has statutorily taken effect? Petitioner's Arguments: The petitioner argued that the impugned notice was liable to be set aside because it clubbed more than six months, contrary to the principle that each month is a unit of assessment. Additionally, the petitioner contended that since a deemed assessment had occurred on 31.10.2015 under Section 22(2) of the TN VAT Act, the respondent could only proceed under Section 27 of the Act, and Section 25 was no longer applicable. The petitioner relied on Section 22(2) and Section 27 of the TN VAT Act. Respondent's Arguments: The respondent argued that the impugned notice was valid as it was issued in the course of assessment and the details sought were necessary to conclude proceedings under Section 25 of the TN VAT Act.