Prem Power Construction (Pvt. Ltd.) vs The Executive Engineer, Electricity, Div. III and Others

D.G. Karnik, J.—The principal prayer of the petitioner in this writ petition is for a direction to the respondents (the authorities functioning under the State of Goa) to issue to the petitioner Form D under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956.

The sales were effected by the petitioner in the year 1997. The assessment order for the year 1997 has been passed many years ago. In fact, the assessment order is required to be made within a period of 4 or 6 years as the case may be. Though the petitioner has not stated in the writ petition the date on which the assessment has been completed, it is not disputed that several years have passed after the completion of the assessment of the sales tax. Form D is required to be produced at or before the completion of the assessment. No provision has been pointed out to us whereby the petitioner can produce Form D several years after the completion of the assessment and requires the tax authorities to re-open the completed assessments after several years.

Learned Counsel for the petitioner, relying upon a decision of Madras High Court in the case of J.B. Leather Fertilizers and Co. v. Dy. Commercial Tax Officer, Vellore (Rural) in Writ Petition No. 9905 of 1999, 2002 (126) STC 38, submitted that a request for re-opening the assessment can be made even belatedly. Therein the High Court has observed: However, that will not prevent the petitioner to file application u/s 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act red with Sections 8(4) and 9(2) of the Central Sales Tax Act requesting the respondent to accept the "C" form declarations". From the said observations, it appears that there was provision in Section 55 of the Tamil Nadu General Sales Tax Act enabling the assessee to make a request to accept the "C" form declarations. No such provision has been pointed out to us to exist in the Goa Sales Tax Act enabling the petitioner to file the Form "D" several years after the completion of the assessment. Hence, in our opinion, the said decision has no application to the facts of the case in hand.

Learned Counsel for the petitioner says that the case of the petitioner is governed by the provisions of Delhi Sales Tax Act, but he did not show how Delhi Sales Tax Act is applicable to the case in hand. The sale was effected in Goa and in the absence of any material produced on record to show that the Delhi Sales Tax Act is applicable, we are unable to accept the contention.

In the present case, the assessment has been completed several years ago. Directing of issuance of Form "D" under the Central Sale Tax Act would be of no assistance to the petitioner in any manner whatsoever. Hence, the petition is has become infructuous and is disposed of as such.