(1) Where the assessing authority or any officer authorized by the commissioner in this behalf has reasons to believe that a dealer has avoided or evaded tax or has not paid tax in accordance with law or has availed input tax credit wrongly, he may after giving the dealer a reasonable opportunity of being heard, determine at any time and for any period, that taxable turnover of such dealer on which tax has been avoided or evaded or has not been paid in accordance with law or wrong input tax credit has been availed and assess the tax to the best of his judgment.
(2) The tax assessed under sub–section (1), after adjustment of input tax credit and the amount deposited in advance in this behalf, if any, shall be payable by the dealer within thirty days from the date of service of the notice of demand. However, the assessing authority or any officer authorized by the Commissioner, after recording reasons in writing, may reduce such period.
(3) The assessment under sub–section (1) shall not be made after the expiry of a period of six months from the date of making out the case. However, the Commissioner may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, in any particular case, extend this time limit for a further period not exceeding six months.
(4) [Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where notice has been issued under sub– section (1), the authority issuing such notice shall be competent to make the assessment for the relevant year.
(5) No notice under sub–section (1) shall be issued after the expiry of five years from the end of the relevant year.
(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (3) and (5), where any proceeding relating to an assessment is subject to adjudication before the Tax Board or a competent court or any other authority under this Act, assessment in such matters may be passed within two years from the final adjudication of such proceedings. The limitation of two years shall be counted from the date of communication of the order of such final adjudication to the assessing authority.]
[Explanation.- For the purpose of this section the expression “date of making out the case” means the date on which notice in pursuance of this section is issued for the first time to the dealer.]