Paradeep Phosphates Pvt. Ltd. Vs Commissioner of Sales Tax (Orissa High Court)
The petitioner challenged the legality of the reassessment order dated 12.07.2024 passed under Section 10 of the Odisha Entry Tax Act, 1999 (OET Act) for the tax period 01.04.2005 to 28.02.2006, along with the preceding notices and related proceedings. The principal challenge was that the reassessment proceedings had been initiated after an inordinate delay and were barred by limitation.
The petitioner, a company engaged in manufacturing fertilizers at Paradeep, had filed self-assessment returns under Section 9 of the OET Act for the relevant tax period. Subsequently, based on an Intelligence Report dated 29.03.2006, audit assessment proceedings under Section 9C were initiated by treating the Intelligence Report as an Audit Visit Report. The petitioner participated in those proceedings, and an audit assessment order dated 02.08.2006 was passed raising an additional tax demand.
The petitioner appealed against the audit assessment. By order dated 16.07.2019, the Appellate Authority held that the assessment under Section 9C was not valid because the assessment had not been initiated on the basis of a proper Audit Visit Report as required under the statute. Relying on the decision in Bhusan Power and Steel Ltd., the Appellate Authority set aside the audit assessment and directed the authorities to initiate proper proceedings strictly in accordance with the OET Act and the Rules.
