Avant Grade Carpets P Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Trade Tax U.P. Lucknow (Allahabad High Court)
Allahabad HC rules that the delay in serving the assessment, coupled with missing process server records, creates a presumption of anti-dating. The 100% export-oriented revisionist benefits as the tax assessment was effectively beyond the statutory limit.
The Allahabad High Court has ruled in favor of Avant Grade Carpets Pvt. Ltd., setting aside a trade tax assessment for the assessment year 1996-97. The central issue of the case, which was also the primary question of law pressed by the appellant, was whether the assessment order passed by the trade tax authority was time-barred. The court’s decision was significantly influenced by the Revenue department’s inability to produce a critical official document, which lent credence to the taxpayer’s claim that the assessment order was “anti-dated.”
The case began with the rejection of the appellant’s books of account based on a survey conducted on June 24, 1998. Following this, an assessment order was passed, which was subsequently challenged in a series of appeals. The case was eventually remanded to the assessing authority by the Trade Tax Tribunal on February 16, 2001. According to Section 21(5) of the U.P. Trade Tax Act, the assessing authority was required to pass and serve the final order within six months from the date the case was remanded. The appellant argued that the statutory deadline for both passing and serving the order was November 27, 2002. However, the order was served on them on November 29, 2002, which they contended was beyond the period of limitation.
